Information for New Employees on Required TB Skin Test

 

August 6, 2007

 

To:  All Employees New to the Bibb County School District

           (Teachers, Custodians, Bus Drivers, Child Nutrition Worker, Aides,  etc. to

             include all other categories of personnel)

From:  Alesa Judd

 

All employees new to the Bibb County School District must be tuberculin-skin tested.  If the skin test is negative, no further skin testing or examinations are required.  If the tuberculin test is positive, additional steps as outlined in the school board policy should be followed.

 

The Bibb County Public Health Department will administer the skin test free of charge.  An appointment must be made in advance (205) 926-9702.  Individuals may also receive the skin test from his/her regular physician.

 

A report from the skin test should be on file in the Central Board Offices by Friday, August 31st for all personnel new to the Bibb County School District.  A report within the previous calendar year, August 1, 2006-August 6, 2007 will suffice.

 

WHAT IS TB?

Tuberculosis (often called TB) is an infectious disease that usually attacks the lungs, but can attack almost any part of the body. Tuberculosis is spread from person to person through the air.

When people with TB in their lungs or throat cough, laugh, sneeze, sing, or even talk, the germs that cause TB may be spread into the air. If another person breathes in these germs there is a chance that they will become infected with tuberculosis.  Repeated contact is usually required for infection.

It is important to understand that there is a difference between being infected with TB and having TB disease. Someone who is infected with TB has the TB germs, or bacteria, in their body. The body's defenses are protecting them from the germs and they are not sick. This is referred to as latent TBI.

Someone with TB disease is sick and can spread the disease to other people. A person with TB disease needs to see a doctor as soon as possible. This is referred to as active TBII.

It is not easy to become infected with tuberculosis. Usually a person has to be close to someone with TB disease for a long period of time. TB is usually spread between family members, close friends, and people who work or live together. TB is spread most easily in closed spaces over a long period of time. However, transmission in an airplane, although rare, has been documented.

Even if someone becomes infected with tuberculosis, that does not mean they will get TB disease. Most people who become infected do not develop TB disease because their body's defenses protect them. Most active cases of TB disease result from activating old infection in people with impaired immune systems.

Experts believe that about 10 million Americans are infected with TB germs. Only about 10 percent of these people will develop TB disease in their lifetime. The other 90 percent will never get sick from the TB germs or be able to spread them to other people.

TB is an increasing and major world wide problem, especially in Africa where the spread has been facilitated by AIDS. It is estimated that nearly 1 billion people will become newly infected, over 150 million will become sick, and 36 million will die worldwide between now and 2020 -- if control is not further strengthened. Each year there are more than 9 million cases and close to 2 million deaths attributed to TB; 100,000 of those 2 million deaths occur among children.

 

WHAT IS THE TB SKIN TEST?

The TB skin test is a way to find out if a person has TB infection. Although there is more than one TB skin test, the preferred method of testing is to use the Mantoux test.

For this test, a small amount of testing material is placed just below the top layers of skin, usually on the arm. Two to three days later a health care worker checks the arm to see if a bump has developed and measures the size of the bump. The significance of the size of the bump is determined in conjunction with risk factors for TB.

Once the doctor knows that a person has TB infection he or she will want to determine if the person has TB disease. This is done by using several other tests including a chest X-ray and a test of a person's mucus (the material that is sometimes coughed up from the lungs).

Q: Should you get a skin test each year to check on TB?

A: Only if you are at high risk for getting or transmitting TB or your jobs request it.

The advice for most people is to get a tuberculin test if you have symptoms or if you are living in close contact or have otherwise been in close contact with someone who recently came down with active TB disease. (Some people get skin tests because of their jobs, in a school or hospital, for example, to make sure they have not contracted TB and will not infect others if they have TB).

If you fall into one or more of the high-risk categories for TB noted earlier, for example, if you are HIV-positive, never had a skin test before, or there is no record of the last result, you should be tested.

If you're not sure, ask your doctor. TB can be prevented, even if you are at risk.