18 Terms
Home > Industry/Domain > Health care > Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
An infectious disease caused by the bacillus mycobacterium tuberculosis, often accompanied by fever and a loss of appetite. It is primarily an infection of the lungs, but any organ system is susceptible, so its manifestations may be varied.
Industry: Health care
Add a new termContributors in Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
positive sputum smear
Health care; Tuberculosis
AFB are visible on the sputum smear when viewed under a microscope. Persons with a sputum smear positive for AFB are considered more infectious than those with smear-negative sputum.
symptomatic
Health care; Tuberculosis
Having symptoms that may indicate the presence of TB or another disease (see Asymptomatic).
TB case
Health care; Tuberculosis
A particular episode of clinically active TB. This term should be used only to refer to the disease itself, not the patient with the disease. By law, cases of TB must be reported to the local health ...
TB infection
Health care; Tuberculosis
A condition in which living tubercle bacilli are present in the body but the disease is not clinically active. Infected persons usually have positive tuberculin reactions, but they have no symptoms ...
transmission
Health care; Tuberculosis
The spread of an infectious agent from one person to another. The likelihood of transmission is directly related to the duration and intensity of exposure to M. tuberculosis (see Exposure).
treatment failures
Health care; Tuberculosis
TB disease in patients who do not respond to chemotherapy and in patients whose disease worsens after having improved initially.
