Tuberculosis, abbreviated TB, is a disease caused by a certain kind of bacteria (the Mycobacterium Tuberculosis). The bacteria can make its home almost anywhere in the body, but very often it comes to rest in the lungs.
When Mycobacterium Tuberculosis first invades the body, the person's immune system can usually fight it, and the person feels healthy. But the bacteria will never completely die· and the worst can happen when a person who has the bacteria becomes ill. If the person's illness makes the immune system weak, then the bacteria can become powerful again and make the person feel worse - coughing up blood, losing weight, and feeling weak.
Not all bacteria do this to people; only the Mycobacterium Tuberculosis will.
In the United States, Tuberculosis is now rare. Drugs were developed to treat TB in the 1950s. A strong commitment to public health practices was also necessary. Before the 1950s, TB was a killer disease in the United States.
