Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs. The bacteria that cause TB are spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes. While TB is rare in the U.S., it’s a leading killer worldwide. 

Although the body may harbor the bacteria that cause TB, the immune system usually can prevent you from becoming sick. For this reason, health care providers make a distinction between latent and active TB. Latent TB, also called inactive TB or TB infection, isn't contagious. It can turn into active TB, so treatment is important for the person with latent TB and to help control the spread of TB. An estimated 2 billion people have latent TB. Active TB makes you sick, and in most cases, it can spread to others. It can occur in the first few weeks after infection with the TB bacteria, or it might occur years later.

On this Mayo Clinic Radio podcast, Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases specialist, will discuss TB. Also on the program, Dr. Rozalina McCoy, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and primary care physician, will explain why people with kidney disease should be cautious when taking supplements. And Dr. Jan Stepanek, a Mayo Clinic aerospace medicine specialist, will explore health and safety concerns with commercial space flight.

Here's your Mayo Clinic podcast.

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Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs. The bacteria that cause TB are spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes. While TB is rare in the U.S., it’s a leading killer worldwide. 

Although the body may harbor the bacteria that cause TB, the immune system usually can prevent you from becoming sick. For this reason, health care providers make a distinction between latent and active TB. Latent TB, also called inactive TB or TB infection, isn't contagious. It can turn into active TB, so treatment is important for the person with latent TB and to help control the spread of TB. An estimated 2 billion people have latent TB. Active TB makes you sick, and in most cases, it can spread to others. It can occur in the first few weeks after infection with the TB bacteria, or it might occur years later.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases specialist, will discuss TB. Also on the program, Dr. Rozalina McCoy, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and primary care physician, will explain why people with kidney disease should be cautious when taking supplements. And Dr. Jan Stepanek, a Mayo Clinic aerospace medicine specialist, will explore health and safety concerns with commercial space flight.

To hear the program, find an affiliate in your area.

Miss the show? Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

Use the hashtag #MayoClinicRadio, and tweet your questions.

Mayo Clinic Radio is on iHeartRadio.

Access archived shows or subscribe to the podcast.

Mayo Clinic Radio produces a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

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Recommendations for who should be tested have changed over the years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that people who are at higher risk of getting the disease should be tested, including:

• People who have known exposure to TB
• Health care workers who care for people who have TB

Recently, the CDC and the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association updated their recommendations for TB screening, testing and treatment of health care personnel. Annual TB testing no longer is recommended, unless there is a known exposure.

Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert, says that TB is caused by the mycobacterium bacterium.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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Dr. Sampathkumar says that all forms of TB can be serious. But when TB affects your lungs, it's particularly dangerous because it can spread to others, through the air, when an infected person coughs or even speaks. 

"Anyone is at risk, provided they have enough exposure. But some people are at especially high risk, and those would be people whose immune systems are weakened," says Dr. Sampathkumar.

That group includes people with HIV, people on chemotherapy or people who have had transplants. Some people who get TB can get rid of it on their own.

"If you've progressed beyond that and your body hasn't been able to control the TB, and now you have full-blown active TB disease, treatment can range from six months to much, much longer, depending on the type of TB you have," says Dr. Sampathkumar.

Antibiotic-resistant strains make treatment difficult. Talk to your health care provider if you may have been exposed to TB.

The post Mayo Clinic Minute: Understanding TB appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Although the body may harbor the bacteria that cause TB, the immune system usually can prevent you from becoming sick. For this reason, health care providers make a distinction between latent and active TB. Latent TB, also called inactive TB or TB infection, isn't contagious. It can turn into active TB, so treatment is important for the person with latent TB and to help control the spread of TB. An estimated 2 billion people have latent TB. Active TB makes you sick, and in most cases, it can spread to others. It can occur in the first few weeks after infection with the TB bacteria, or it might occur years later.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases specialist, will discuss TB. Also on the program, Dr. Rozalina McCoy, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and primary care physician, will explain why people with kidney disease should be cautious when taking supplements. And Dr. Jan Stepanek, a Mayo Clinic aerospace medicine specialist, will explore health and safety concerns with commercial space flight.

To hear the program, find an affiliate in your area.

Use the hashtag #MayoClinicRadio, and tweet your questions.

Mayo Clinic Radio is on iHeartRadio.

Access archived shows or subscribe to the podcast.

Mayo Clinic Radio produces a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: TB / supplements and kidney disease / commercial space flight appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated Mayo Clinic a Regional Tuberculosis Training and Medical Consultation Center. Since then, the Mayo Clinic Center for Tuberculosis has completed more than 1,000 virtual consultations for health care providers in its region, helping to identify and treat TB across a wide swath of the northern U.S.

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Stacey Rizza explains the three main goals of the Mayo Clinic Center for Tuberculosis and shows how a physician from as far away as Montana or Ohio can get guidance from an entire team of Mayo Clinic health care providers within 24 hours. 

Watch the Mayo Clinic Minute.

Watch Dr. Rizza’s answers to FAQs about TB:

What is TB?

Who is at risk for getting TB?

How do you test for TB?

What are the two stages of infection?

How do you prevent TB?

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (1:06) is in the downloads. Read the Mayo Clinic Minute script.

The post Mayo Clinic Minute: Center for Tuberculosis (TB) Passes Milestone appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

The amount of sleep adults need varies with age, but for most it's seven to eight hours per night. Many don't get that much, and that can have serious consequences. On Mayo Clinic Radio, sleep medicine specialist Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler explains why getting adequate sleep is so important for good health. Also, infectious disease specialist Dr. Stacey Rizza has an update on tuberculosis (TB). March 24 is World TB Day. And, pathologist Dr. Bobbi Pritt has the latest on a new bacterium that causes Lyme disease and how to protect against it.

The post In Case You Missed the Show: #MayoClinicRadio Podcast, March 19, 2016 appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Here's the Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

The post Getting Enough Sleep/Tuberculosis Update/New Lyme Disease Bacterium: Mayo Clinic Radio appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.