Reviewed by medical experts • For informational purposes only
TB is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis spreading through air from an untreated patient; malnutrition, diabetes, smoking and weakened immunity raise the risk of disease.
The cause is a specific bacterium: Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is not caused by cold weather, diet, or "weakness" itself - those only influence who falls sick after exposure.
How it spreads: through air. When a person with active, untreated lung TB coughs, sneezes, speaks or sings, they release invisible droplet nuclei containing the bacteria. Others breathing the same air - especially in closed, crowded, poorly ventilated rooms - can inhale them. TB does NOT spread by sharing food, utensils, clothes, touch or toilets. Sunlight and ventilation kill and disperse the bacteria; closed damp rooms favour spread.
Infection vs disease - the crucial distinction: many people inhale TB bacteria and never fall ill. The immune system walls them off - this is latent TB infection, with no symptoms and no spread to others. The bacteria can sleep for years. Disease develops when immunity slips:
Reactivation: latent TB can reactivate years later during illness, ageing or immunosuppression - one reason TB appears in elderly people with no recent contact.
Remember: TB is airborne from untreated patients; strong immunity is the wall - nutrition, diabetes control and no smoking keep it standing.
Ayurveda attributes such disease to depleted strength (ojas) - conceptually close to the immunity story, but the specific cause is the bacterium, and diagnosis is by sputum testing.
Written By
Sanatan Ayurveda
BDS
Reviewed By
Dr. Varun Gupta
MD Pharmacology, MBBS
Last updated on
27 Sep 2022 • 06:23 PM (IST)
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TB progresses from latent (silent) infection to early active disease with cough and fever, then advanced disease - each stage is curable, and treatment early prevents spread.
TB is treated with a free 6-month combination antibiotic course (HRZE); every dose matters - stopping early causes drug-resistant TB, a far worse disease.
Prevent TB by testing every 2-week cough, completing treatment fully, ventilating rooms, covering coughs, BCG vaccination for children, and screening family contacts.
