TB SKIN TESTS

TB tests are performed upon the request of an individual, a referral from a physician’s office, or by the request of a local employer. TB skin testing is performed and read by trained professionals.

TB testing can be done on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday

during the normal clinic hours of 8:00am to 4:30pm.

Two-step TB skin testing may be performed within 7-21 days after the reading of the first TB test.

A positive TB test does not necessarily mean a person has active TB. Any individual who has a positive TB test will meet with one of our clinic’s trained professionals to review the results, and advise them of what their next step should be.

What is TB?

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by a germ called Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is spread from person to person through the air. TB usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys, or the spine. When a person with infectious TB coughs or sneezes, droplet nuclei containing M. tuberculosis are expelled into the air. If another person inhales air containing these droplet nuclei, he or she may become infected. However, not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection and TB disease.

What is Latent TB Infection?

Persons with latent TB infection do not feel sick and do not have any symptoms. They are infected with M. tuberculosis, but do not have TB disease. The only sign of TB infection is a positive reaction to the tuberculin skin test or TB blood test. Persons with latent TB infection are not infectious and cannot spread TB infection to others.

Overall, without treatment, about 5 to 10% of infected persons will develop TB disease at some time in their lives. About half of those people who develop TB will do so within the first two years of infection. For persons whose immune systems are weak, especially those with HIV infection, the risk of developing TB disease is considerably higher than for persons with normal immune systems.

Of special concern are persons infected by someone with extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR TB) who later develop TB disease; these persons will have XDR TB, not regular TB disease.

Latent and Active TB Testing, Treatment and Medications

This service is available to individuals in the clinic on a daily basis.