Lymph nodes are small, oval glands that are part of the immune system. They remove unwanted bacteria and particles from the body. Symptoms of lymph node TB include:

• persistent, painless swelling of the lymph nodes, which usually affects nodes in the neck, but swelling can occur in nodes throughout your body
• over time, the swollen nodes can begin to release a discharge of fluid through the skin

In some cases, a TB infection can spread from the lungs to other parts of the body. TB infections that occur outside the lungs are known as extrapulmonary TB.
Extrapulmonary TB is more common in people with weakened immune systems (the body’s natural defence against infection and illness).
These types of extrapulmonary TB can cause additional symptoms, which are described below.

The most common symptoms of TB involving primalrily the lungs are:

• cough
• fever, especially rising in the evening
• night sweats
• chest pain
• weight loss
• loss of appetite
• coughing up of blood.

• A person who has symptoms of active TB disease
• A person who has been exposed to someone (a family member, friend, or co-worker) who has active TB disease
• A person who has HIV infection or certain medical illnesses such as diabetes or chronic kidney failure
• A person who is taking steroid or other immune suppressing drugs for chronic medical conditions
• A person who lives or works in a homeless shelter, prison, hospital, nursing home or other similar group setting

Some people develop TB disease soon after becoming infected when TB bacteria begin to multiply rapidly, before their immune system can fight back. Other people may get sick later, when their immune system becomes weak for some reason.
Babies and young children often have weak immune systems. People infected with HIV have very weak immune systems. Other people who have weak immune systems, are those who have the following conditions:

• diabetes mellitus
• cancer of the head or neck
• hematological malignancies
• severe kidney disease
• low body weight
• certain medical treatments (such as corticosteroid treatment or organ transplants)

When you first breathe in TB germs into your lungs, your body protects you by building a wall around the germs the way a scab forms over a cut. This makes the germs go to “sleep” and stops them from hurting your body. Sleeping TB germs are called “latent TB”. A person with latent TB are said to have latent TB infection (LTBI). Latent TB germs can stay asleep for a long time, sometimes for life. However, sometimes TB germs “wake up” when body defenses are weakened. When this happens, you have active TB disease.

TB is spread when a person who has active, untreated TB germs in their lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, laughs, or speaks, spreading their germs into the air. A person who breathes in TB germs usually has had very close, day-to-day contact with someone who has active TB disease. That’s why a person usually gets TB germs from someone he/she spends a lot of time with, like a family member, friend, or close co-worker who has the disease.
A person is not likely to get TB from someone coughing in the subway or at a restaurant. TB is not spread by sitting on a toilet seat or by sharing dishes, utensils, sheets, clothing or other inanimate objects.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious disease caused by the germ Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mycobacterium bovis is part of the tuberculosis family, primarily a disease of cattle but may affect other animals as well as humans. TB can hurt a person’s lungs or other parts of the body. However, TB can be prevented with treatment and it can be cured.