What is tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis is when tiny little germs get inside your body and start causing a cough that won't go away.

Imagine you're playing with germs, tiny, invisible friends (or sometimes foes) that live in the air. If someone nearby has tuberculosis and they sneeze or cough, these germs float into the air like little clouds. You breathe them in, and poof, they can travel to your lungs.

Once inside your lungs, the germs start multiplying like a tiny army. They make you feel sick, with a bad cough that might last weeks or even months. Sometimes it feels like there's something stuck in your chest, and you might even lose weight because your body is working hard to fight off the germs.

But don’t worry, just like you can get better from a cold, your body can also beat tuberculosis if you take medicine for a little while. It’s like giving your body extra powers to knock out those tiny troublemakers!