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You are in: Home > Chest Information > Chest Conditions > Tuberculosis > How Will I Know If I Have TB

How Will I Know If I Have TB ?

• Active TB
• Latent TB

Active TB

If you are concerned about any symptoms you are having you should talk to your doctor. If your doctor suspects that you might have active TB you will need:

• A chest x–ray
• To give sputum (or 'spit') samples: usually a total of 3 samples, taken on consecutive days

If TB is found in your sputum samples a diagnosis of active pulmonary TB will be confirmed. TB bacteria are slow growing, so it can take a couple of months to get all the results back from your sputum samples. Sometimes treatment is started before all the results are back (e.g. if you have symptoms or changes on your chest x–ray which suggest TB.)

After you have been diagnosed with active TB you will be asked about people you have been in 'close and lengthy' contact with (e.g. people who live in the same house or are a close family member and / or have had more than a total of 8 hours of close contact with you since you became infected).

These people will usually be contacted and invited for screening. This is called 'contact tracing' and is used to identify / treat people who may be infected with TB.

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Latent TB

To become infected with TB you normally need to have close and lengthy contact with someone with active TB (e.g. you live in the same house or are a close family member and / or have had more than a total of 8 hours of close contact since the person became infected).

If this has been the case there is a chance you may have caught TB. Therefore you will be offered a check-up (screening) by a TB specialist even if you do not have any symptoms. Sometimes close friends or work colleagues who have spent a lot of time with an infected person will also be offered a check-up.

You may need to have some tests to see whether you have latent TB. These may include:

• A chest x–ray
• A skin test: known as a Mantoux test, this can show whether you have ever been in contact with TB germs
• A specific TB blood test

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