Learn all about Tuberculosis

One of the main aims of this website is to provide interesting, easy-to-understand articles that explain TB. All articles that are written for activists or patients with TB are given the tag learn. You can find them here listed in date order.

Below is a selection of articles that will teach you the essentials of TB - and much more! We hope you enjoy them. Please give us feedback if you find errors or if you think some things could be better explained.

• What is TB? A description of the TB germ: Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  Learn the components and characteristics of the TB germ. 
• How do so many people become ill from TB?
  Learn how TB is spread and what can be done to prevent it.
• TB is usually a disease of the lungs.
  Read all about pulmonary TB.
• TB, however, often spreads to other parts of the body.
  Find out about extra-pulmonary TB.
• TB vaccines.
  Learn all about TB vaccine development.
• The BCG vaccine.
  Read about the only TB vaccine in use. It's not particularly effective, except in children, and it's extremely old. 
• The path to diagnosing TB
  How is TB diagnosed? Often with great difficulty. Read about the challenges of TB diagnosis.
• The standard TB diagnostic tools
  Learn about the standard diagnostic tools and their shortcomings: Chest x-rays, sputum smear microscopy and sputum culture.
• Treating TB
  Active TB is curable, usually. Learn about the medicines that TB.
• Controlling TB
  There are measures health facilities and crowded places need to take to prevent the spread of TB.
• History of TB.
  Where does TB come from? How have humans dealt with it through the ages. Read our history of TB.
• Who's who in the TB zoo?
  Understanding the myriad of TB organisations and what they do is almost as difficult as understanding the bacterium itself! This article helps shed light on the web of TB organisations and what they do.