Excessive sputum is not necessarily tuberculosis, any lesion in the airways or in the lungs can cause sputum production, only inflammation in the lungs infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is tuberculosis. Other infections such as viruses, common bacteria, mycobacteria and mycoplasma can cause sputum production, which is not necessarily tuberculosis, and there are even many non-infectious lesions, such as COPD, which is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma, which is allergic inflammation, as well as chronic interstitial lung disease, all of which can cause sputum production. These diseases do not contain any bacteria in the sputum and are not contagious.