TB can be cured. Special antibiotics have cured thousands of people with TB disease in Canada. The most common drugs used to fight TB are:

• Isoniazid (INH)
• Pyrazinamide (PZA)    
• Rifampin
• Ethambutol

Your doctor will determine the best antibiotics for you. Antibiotics must be taken for at least six months to kill all the TB bacteria. Taking more than one antibiotic at a time prevents drug-resistant TB.  TB medications are provided free of charge.

It is VERY IMPORTANT to keep taking TB drugs to complete treatment, otherwise drug-resistant TB may develop.  Some people with TB don’t finish all their pills. This is often because once they start to take the pills;; they feel better and don’t think they need them any more. They think they are cured but just because they feel better, it doesn’t mean the disease is gone. TB germs are very difficult to get rid of. Until your pills are all gone, the germs are still active in your body.

Usually after a few weeks, the person is no longer infectious to others and most times can to back to their normal routine as soon as they feel up to it.