Cellular Laboratory

Case Study

Tuberculosis

A 13 year old boy presented to his school nurse complaining that his three week old cough had got worse, he was coughing up sputum and he had lost his appetite. She told him to take the rest of the day off and told his mother to take him to their doctor if it got worse. Overnight the boys cough became worse still and he began to cough up blood. His mother and father took the boy to accident and emergency where it became evident he was very ill. The doctor on duty ordered a chest xray that showed areas of consolidation (shadows) in the lungs.

What do you think might be the problem with this boy?

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