Overview
Tuberculosis is a contagious bacterial disease that primarily involves the lungs. Tuberculosis may develop after inhaling infected droplets sprayed into the air from a cough or sneeze of someone infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Review Date 12/24/2020
Updated by: Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.