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Respiratory Disorders Tuberculosis What is tuberculosis? Tuberculosis is a disease that can seriously harm a person’s lungs or other important organs. Tuberculosis is also called TB. How can you catch TB? You can catch TB by coming in contact with a person who has the TB germ in their lungs or throat. They send the germs to the other person by coughing, sneezing or speaking. People who have a day-to-day contact with an infected person are most likely to catch the germs. You cannot get TB from a cough or sneeze by person in the subway or the restaurant. What is the difference between TB germ and TB disease? If you have a TB infection your body has the TB germ but they are not active. Body defenses build a wall around the germ like a scab over a cut. TB germs can stay alive years after years without becoming active. An inactive germ cannot do any damage or cannot be spread to other people. Having the germs does not mean the person is sick they are only infected. TB disease is when the germ becomes active. If your body defense is weak you are more likely to get the disease right after the germ enters your body. Inacti