Q: I am suffering from tuberculosis. I am taking treatment from the last one month. There is a function at our house and lots of guests of all ages will come. These will also include pregnant women. How safe is my interaction with everyone, specially a pregnant lady? The guests will be there for 2-3 days.

A:You did not mention whether you are an open case of tuberculosis; in other words whether a smear of your sputum has shown the presence of tuberculous bacillus organisms. If your sputum is positive for TB then you could be infectious i.e. you could infect others particularly children and elderly people. If your sputum is negative for TB then you are unlikely to infect others with whom you have no prolonged close contact. On the whole it is safer and wiser to keep away the little ones.