Consider testing
- Person traveling in TB endemic areas.
- Migrant workers.
- Person experiencing homelessness.
- Contact to a tuberculosis case.
- Foreign-born person from tuberculosis-endemic area.
- Person who injects drugs.
- Immunosupressed person (e.g., HIV positive or organ transplant).
- Resident/employee of healthcare, correctional or long-term care facility.
- Person with chronic medical problem (e.g., diabetes, end stage renal disease).
Test types
Tuberculosis Skin Test (TST)
- Mantoux test with Tubersol or Aplisol PPD material.
- Remember to date the vial and discard 30 days after opening.
- Tine tests are no longer recommended.
Interferon Gamma Release Assay
- Blood testing for TB infection with a QuantiFeron-TB Gold In-tube® (QFT).
- Available at most laboratories.
When to test
Screening should occur when a patient fits the criteria for testing. Testing is required for:
- Healthcare workers or healthcare students.*
- Residents of long-term care nursing facilities.*
- People who inject drugs.
*Two-step testing is required for healthcare workers at entry and people admitted to nursing homes.
Documentation is required
Per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a verbal report of a positive skin test is unacceptable. There must be written documentation.
- If no documentation is available, a skin test should be applied and read. If it is positive, a chest x-ray should be ordered.
- A TST “converter” is a person who has an increase in reaction size of ≥10 mm within a period of two years.
Questions? Contact Yakima Health District at (509) 575-4040 or (800) 535-5016.