Tuberculosis is a serious disease that infects the lungs.
Tuberculosis is also called TB, and was once called consumption.
There are two types of TB: active and inactive. Inactive TB is
where the sufferer has the TB germ but doesn't experience any
symptoms. Someone who has active TB experiences symptoms. Only
someone with active TB can infect others. Even though it's no
longer common in Australia and other developed countries,
tuberculosis still kills almost two million people a year around
the world. Only about 10% of people who come into contact with
the germ that causes TB get the active form of the disease. What
causes tuberculosis? TB is caused by bacteria called
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which can grow in the lungs. These
bacteria are spread when someone with an active infection coughs
or sneezes. TB can also infect other parts of the body, but
these types of the illness usually aren't contagious. Sometimes,
unborn babies can get TB from their pregnant mothers, but this
is very, very rare and has neve