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Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a tough little bacterium that digs into your lungs (and sometimes other organs) and causes tuberculosis (TB), a disease that can literally hollow out lung tissue.

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The cultural appearance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Colonies with a typical granular, waxy pattern of growth.

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Microscopic view of the acid-fast bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis

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You breathe it in when someone with active TB coughs, laughs, sings, or yells and tiny droplets hang in the air and head straight for the deepest part of your lungs.

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People with weak immune systems (HIV, diabetes, malnutrition), smokers, heavy drinkers, folks living or working in crowded or poorly ventilated places (shelters, prisons, some health-care settings), and close contacts of a TB patient are first in line.

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A cough that won’t quit (three weeks or more), coughing up blood, chest pain, weight loss, fever, drenching night sweats, and “I-can-barely-move” fatigue.

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A section of lung displaying tubercles (reddish areas). Caseous (cheesy) necrotic lesions in the center of the tubercle (arrows) contain bacilli.

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Find cases early, treat them under directly-observed therapy, pop on an N-95 or put the patient in a negative-pressure room, improve airflow, and treat latent TB.

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In areas where TB is common, it is recommend to give babies the BCG vaccine.

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Drug-sensitive TB is curable with the classic 6-month “RIPE” combo: two months of Rifampin, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide, and Ethambutol, then four more months of Rifampin + Isoniazid. Tougher, drug-resistant strains get longer, all-oral regimens recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).