I found out at work yesterday that a patient we’d had in house for a week tested positive for tuberculosis.
I was only in his room once this visit (he has chronic health problems and I may have seen him previously, though not often). I didn’t even get that close to him; I looked over his arms briefly and then realized that the nurse had somehow drawn the blood I needed before I got there. I also don’t remember him coughing near me at any point, but it’s been a few weeks so my memory may be rusty. For what it’s worth, he’s an older Asian gentleman with kidney problems.
I don’t feel very worried about it at this point, but if any of the Dopers could check in to reassure me or inform me, I’d like it very much.
40% of Spaniards test positive for the tuberculine test (which indicates that you have TB antibodies), including me. The number of actual cases is below 500 excluding sub-saharian immigrants, who come with all kinds of bugs and are driving our doctors to new heights.
That’s for a 44M people country. The chances that you’ll actually develop TB are pretty low and in any case nowadays it’s absolutely treatable.
I’m really surprised that healthcare workers aren’t vaccinated for TB. Corrections workers are because of crowded conditions increasing the risk of exposure. I should think that given healthcare workers’ exposure to bodily fluids and the like, vaccination would be mandatory.
That said, as long as you have a normal immune system and you weren’t in close contact over extended periods of time, don’t panic. “Exposed” doesn’t necessarily mean “contracted.” The chances you are infected are slim, but it’s always good to check, just to be on the safe side.
One of my Grandfathers had it when I was about 4. Of all the family members who’d been around him, none came down with it. I still have the vaccination scar, as does my brother. I think my father tested positive to antibodies but nothing ever came of that; they put it down to the vaccination he’d had for TB in high school (as was standard here at that time), and despite regular chest scans for a year or so afterward, he never had any problems. This is all a bit sketchy (as I said, I was a very small child), but I think it’s accurate.
It’s not all that easy to catch. My ex’s dad lived in a sanitarium for 11 years back in the '50s and early '60s, but he was around his wife and kids all the time prior to that and none of them caught it. I wouldn’t worry too much. Just do what you need to do to diagnose and treat. I predict you’ll be fine.
I was looking that up just the other day b/c of my undiagnosed cough & saw an article about TB being “on the rise”. The only alarming fact in this attention-grabbing piece was that some people don’t finish their meds, and then really ARE in trouble. It sounded like the course of treatment takes months & months - one guy (a teacher) quit taking his after 8 months, because he felt better. Now he’s REALLY sick.
You are frequently exposed to TB. Whenever you’re with a group of people in an enclosed space, there’s a risk of transmission. I tested positive for TB some years ago and asked if I’d been exposed while working in another country. My doctor said, “More chance you were exposed by riding the subway.”
It’s worth paying attention to, given the treatment-resistant strains, but also, this was highly unlikely to be your first, or worst, exposure.
heh, I had my occupational health mantoux test today.
I had a BCG vaccination at age 10 (like every other Heaf negative person in Northern Ireland), but it was either sub cut or didn’t take because I have no scar.
No BCG scar=presumed non-immune status= Mantoux test.
Now, I’ve definitely been exposed to TB. My grandmother, who lives with my parents had TB as a child, I’ve spent 4 years working in Irish hospitals and 6 weeks working in India, where, amongst other things, I drained TB abcesses.
A positive Mantoux with a positive chest Xray is active TB= 6-12months antibiotic therapy.
A postive Mantoux, more than 10 years after BCG vaccination, with a negative Chest x-ray is treated as latent TB = 6 months antibiotic therapy.
A negative mantoux is considered non-immune and BCG is offered.
Guess what, my Mantoux is negative, meaning that although I have no scar, it’s most likely that it took, and I have immunity. I was offered (and declined) BCG, as there is no evidence basis to suggest it would benefit someone in my circumstance.
if you’re worried, get a Mantoux test and a chest xray.
I wouldn’t worry about it – as it turns out, TB is very easy to beat. So while it may seem like…hmmm? Oh, tuberculosis? Oh, geez…I’m sorry…I thought you were talking about the Buccaneers.
Ok, ok…I’m sorry…I know, it’s not a joking matter. But now that you’ve been reassured, I just couldn’t let that one get by. Hope everything turns out perfectly for you (and that you’re not a Tampa Bay fan).
BCG (TB) vaccine. Prett fair at protecting kids from TB, not so hot in protecting adults against the disease. And once a person gets the vaccine, their TB skin test (the most common way of screening for TB infection) will always be positive.
Lissa, what corrections system requires their workers to have BCG?
MerryMag, was the patient diagnosed with latent TB infection or TB disease? If it’s just a latent infection, chance of passing it on is quite low. TB disease (productive cough, AFB in sputum) makes transmitting it more possible, but still with a pretty low likelihood. Either way, get skin tested now & later if indicated, or get a quantiferon serum test later, and if either is indicative of a new infection, take INH for 9 months daily and the cure rate is 96%.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been working in a hospital setting for six years now, and I’ve been exposed to TB several times. So far, every yearly Mantoux has been negative as of last May.