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.