Tuberculosis, or TB, is a highly contagious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacterium can cause damage to the lungs as well as to other parts of the body. If improperly diagnosed or not medically treated, TB can result in death. Tuberculosis falls into two major categories--pulmonary, or inside the lungs, and extrapulmonary, or outside the lungs. In total these two types cause 12 different manifestations of the disease. Pulmonary TB is responsible for five of these.
Primary Tuberculosis Pneumonia
Primary TB pneumonia infects the lungs and causes pneumonia. Symptoms include fever and cough, and the disease can be diagnosed with an X-ray and blood work. People with weaker immune systems, including the elderly and young children, are at greater risk than others for developing primary TB pneumonia.
Laryngeal Tuberculosis
When the tuberculosis bacterium gets into the throat's vocal cords, laryngeal TB is diagnosed. This type of pulmonary TB is not very common and is easy to misdiagnose because its symptoms mimic those of both chronic laryngitis and laryngeal cancer.
Cavitary Tuberculosis
Cavitary TB is destroys the upper lobes of the lungs if left untreated over time. Symptoms include a productive cough that can sometimes contain bloody sputum, night sweats, fever and even weight loss. Cavitary TB is highly contagious and is known for its virulence in spreading rapidly to other parts of the lung.
Miliary TB
When small granules appear on an X-ray of the lungs, miliary TB is usually diagnosed. It shares many of the same symptoms as cavitary TB, including weight loss, fever and night sweats. Similar to the situation with primary TB pneumonia, those with a weakened immune system are at greater risk for contracting this form of the disease.
TB Pleurisy
TB pleurisy is quickly diagnosed when patients experience chest pain and difficulty breathing and when fluid is present in the lungs. Symptoms usually appear rapidly as the bacterium enters and ruptures the chest's pleural space, located between the lungs and the chest wall. According to pulmonarychannel.com, almost two-thirds of patients with TB pleurisy will develop other forms of pulmonary TB within five years.
