In active tuberculosis infection, a person may experience chronic cough with blood-containing mucus. Infected lungs contain Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
What is tuberculosis (TB)?
TB is a bacterial disease that usually attacks the lungs, but it can also attack the kidney, spine, and brain. Left untreated, TB can be fatal. TB is common throughout the world, and cases are increasing in the United States.
What are active TB and latent TB?
Not everyone infected with TB bacteria develops symptoms. We say that those with symptoms have active TB and those without symptoms have latent TB.
People with active TB might have mild or severe symptoms. Active TB can be life-threatening and is very contagious. It must be treated quickly.
People with latent TB do not have symptoms and cannot spread TB. However, they are at risk of developing active TB and later spreading the infection to others.
How does TB spread?
TB is spread through the air when someone with active TB coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings and an uninfected person inhales their infected droplets.
How do we test for TB?
TB testing is required for all adult I-693 exams. A blood test called an interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) is used to detect TB. (There is an older, less accurate test called a tuberculin skin test—TST or PPD. That test is no longer accepted for the I-693 exam.)
If your IGRA is negative, you will not need any further testing for TB.
If your IGRA is positive or if you have other symptoms, you will need a chest x-ray to screen for active TB. If a chest x-ray is required, your I-693 cannot be completed until the x-ray is completed.
What if my chest x-ray suggests active TB?
You will be referred to the local health department’s TB control program for further evaluation and treatment. Your I-693 paperwork cannot be completed until you have completed treatment.
It is important that you cooperate with health officials when they contact you. The health officials are only interested in ensuring your infection is treated and in preventing others from becoming infected.
What if my chest x-ray suggests latent TB?
Your civil surgeon might prescribe medication to treat the infection or send you to another physician to have the infection treated. The treatment may take up to nine months to complete. However, your I-693 forms can be completed before the treatment is complete, as long as you have started treatment.
You will take oral antibiotics for an extended period of time. It is very important that you take all of the medication prescribed for all of the days. If you stop taking your medication early or skip doses, you might develop a deadly form of treatment-resistant TB.
Sometimes the medications cause mild side effects, such as nausea, diarrhea, mild stomach pain, and dark urine. Avoid drinking alcohol while you are on these medications since alcohol can increase your risk of side effects and reduce the effectiveness of some antibiotics. If any side effects are causing too much discomfort, talk to your doctor about options to help. But continue taking the medication as directed until you have finished all of it or until your doctor tells you to stop.
Contact us
Are you in the San Francisco Bay Area? Book an appointment with one of our skilled physicians to learn more and develop a treatment plan that is right for your goals, budget, and timeframe. Request an appointment online or call us at 415-409-3456.