Tuberculosis is an extremely infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It’s one of the top-10 causes of death worldwide. Tuberculosis (TB) is most common in developing countries, but more than 9,000 cases were reported in the United States in 2016. Tuberculosis is preventable, and if it’s contracted and discovered early, it’s generally treatable.TB primarily affects the lungs, but in some cases it can spread to other parts of the body. When TB spreads, it’s referred to as extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB). One form of EPTB is bone and joint tuberculosis. This makes up about 10 percentTrusted Source of all EPTB cases in the United States. Bone tuberculosis is simply a form of TB that affects the spine, the long bones, and the joints.In the United States, only about 3 percent of all TB cases affect the musculoskeletal system. Of those cases, the spine is most commonly affected. Therefore, if you have bone TB, you are more likely to have it in or on your spinal column. However, bone TB could potentially affect any bone in your body.