World TB Day 2025: Expert Shares The Difference Between Common Cough And Tuberculosis

World TB Day is observed annually on March 24. This day aims to raise awareness about the urgency of ending TB, which remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. It also emphasises the need to intensify efforts to end TB. The theme for World TB Day 2025 is "Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver" which calls for hope, urgency, and accountability. World TB Day marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.

World TB Day 2025: Signs and symptoms of TB and how is it different from normal cough

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that often affects the lungs. It spreads through the air when someone with TB coughs, sneezes or spits.

"Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterial infection namely Mycobacterium tuberculosis which is transmitted through droplets that come out along with coughs or sneezes of people who have been infected with TB. Any cough which last for more than 3 weeks and there is no apparent cause for it, it is advisable to rule out tuberculosis," says Dr. Sandeep Nayar, Principal Director and HOD, Chest and Respiratory Diseases at BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital.

Difference between common cough and TB

When the cough persists for 3 weeks or more or if it has blood within yellow or green phlegm, it can be TB. Someone with these symptoms must get tested. "A common cough generally appears suddenly and disappears quickly within a few days whereas TB patients may experience severe cough which may persist for weeks and at this stage can transmit TB to other people," the expert explains.

"While the usual cough, phlegm tends to be clear or white and watery, the characteristics of a TB cough are usually whitish or light yellowish or green and thick phlegm due to the infection and inflammation caused by TB bacteria. In some cases, the patient may complain about blood-tinged sputum and in severe cases patient may present with frank hemoptysis," Dr. Nayar adds.

Unlike normal cough, tuberculosis is usually accompanied by typical symptoms such as fever that may be intermittent rather than continuous and patient may also complain of shivering, night sweats, loss of appetite, drastic weight loss, chest pain and breathing difficulty.

"Cough may be one of the early symptoms of Pulmonary TB and it is very important to recognise early symptoms of TB as early intervention can completely cure the disease as well as prevent it from spreading to others," he concludes.

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