TB is caused by bacteria, mycobacterium tuberculosis. In India the infection rate of TB is very high, but it is mostly latent. 

In active cases treatment for tuberculosis is given.  The classic symptoms of active TB infection are a chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Tuberculosis commonly affects lungs but extrapulmonary TB is also there. The prevalence of TB in India is 230 per lakh and mortality rate is 22 per lakh population. As per WHO data India has around 2.1 million cases of TB out of 9 million globally.  It is estimated that about 40% of the Indian population is infected with TB bacteria, the vast majority of whom have latent rather than active TB. There are five first line drugs for TB; Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide, Ethambutol and Streptomycin. The first line drugs are used routinely under RNTCP (Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme) according to Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) of WHO. The course of treatment under DOTS may be 6 to 8 month, however in some cases it may extend to one year also. They have less side effects as compared to second line of drugs, which are costly also. The second lines of drugs are used in TB cases in which bacteria are resistant to first line of drugs (MDR- Multidrug resistance TB, XDR- Extensively drug resistance TB). The second line of drugs are amikacin, kanamycin, capreomycin,  levofloxacin,  moxifloxacin, prothionamide, cycloserine.