Who is most likely to get TB?

Some people are more likely to be infected with the latent form of TB. These include:

persons who were born in a foreign country with high rates of TB
persons who have lived in a foreign country with high rates of TB
persons who have spent time with someone with active TB disease
persons who live or spend a lot of time in crowded places

Some people who are infected with latent TB have a greater risk of progressing to active TB disease. These include:

persons who became infected with TB in the last 2 years
children under 5 years of age
new immigrants from countries with high rates of TB - persons who have been in the United States for less than 5 years
persons with weakened immune systems
persons with certain kinds of lung disease, such as silicosis
persons with diabetes
persons who have had stomach or bowel surgery
persons who take certain medications for arthritis
persons who take prednisone or other steroids for extended periods of time
persons who have had cancer of the head, neck or leukemia
persons with end stage renal disease
persons who are extremely underweight (10% or more below ideal body weight)
persons with an abnormal chest x-ray suggestive of old healed TB disease
persons who had TB disease in the past but did not receive adequate treatment
persons with HIV infection. Persons with HIV infection have the greatest risk of progressing to active TB disease.

Last modified on 01/12/2015

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