Question
Could I infect my husband with TB?
17 April 2023. Related: All topics, Complications and coinfections, Opportunistic infections, TB.
Hi, my husband has not long found out he is HIV positive and I am worried that as I work with people who have TB that I might make him sick.
Could I carry TB and not be sick but then pass it on to someone like my husband?
Answer
Thanks for your questions which are really important.
The answer depends on where you live and where you grew up as a child. This is because guidelines are different in different countries. This is also important for knowing whether you or your husband were exposed to TB when you were children, and whether of not you had a vaccine against TB.
If you have latent TB (sleeping TB)Â and have no symptoms, you cannot pass on the infection. This means that it is good to talk to your doctor about your own TB status and whether you need a vaccine.
However, if you have active TB, you could cough or sneeze TB bacteria into the air which could put your husband at risk.
Your husband should also talk to his HIV doctor about his level of risk.
To catch TB you normally need close contact and ‘heavy exposure’ from a person who has active TB. This can include living with someone who has active TB.
Further info
TB and HIV coinfection (from the i-Base training manual)
https://i-base.info/ttfa/5-ois-and-coinfections/7-tuberculosis-tb
UK (BHIVA) guidelines on HIV and TB coinfection.
https://www.bhiva.org/TB-guidelines
This answer to this question from April 2008 was updated in April 2023.
Hi June,
I’m sorry to hear your partner has TB. But please talk to your doctor for advice about this.
This website is a resource for people who are HIV positive. Are you or your partner HIV positive and taking HIV treatment?
If so, please let us know what meds you’re taking. And if you have access to your CD4 and viral load results, please tell us what they are.
if my partner has tb will I be allowed to go to my work place