What is the difference between tuberculosis and pneumonia?

Special testing: Pneumonia is a general term for any lung infection caused by a variety of pathogens (bacteria, virus, fungus or parasites). Tuberculosis (TB) is a very specific type of infection caused by a unique bacteria called mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tb may occasionally spread outside the lung affecting almost any other part of the body. Special testing in a lab is required to prove that someone has tb.

Pneumonia: Mycobacterium tuberculosis may cause pneumonia as can a multitude of bacteriae, fungi, viruses and parasites.

See below: Pneumonia causes cough, fever, sometimes shortness of breath and chest pains. Rales are heard on auscultation of the lungs and an infiltrate is seen on chest x-ray. Tb is a more chronic illness characterized by cough, night sweats, weight loss, a positive PPD skin test or gamma interferon release test with apical infiltrates on cxr.Sputum smears and cultures are + afb/tb.Tb can cause pneumonia too.