- Close contacts of persons known or suspected to have TB
- Persons with HIV infection
- Injection or other illicit drug users
- Those with underlying medical disease that increases risk for active disease if infection occurs
- Residents and employees of high-risk congregate settings
- Health-care workers who serve high-risk clients
- Foreign-born persons who arrived within last 5 years from country with high TB incidence or prevalence
- Some medically underserved, low-income populations
- High-risk racial or ethnic minority populations
- Infants, children, and adolescents exposed to adults in high-risk categories
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Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium of types M. tuberculosis, M. bovis and M. africanum. This condition is typically transmitted from infected individuals through coughing and placing organisms into the air. This is then inhaled by a susceptible individual.
Most infected individuals do not become clinically ill and are not infectious while having no symptoms in most cases. However, at a later time, when the immune system of the infected host is impaired for whatever reason; this latent infection may become active and clinically apparent TB, which is then infectious, may occur. For infected individuals without clinical signs; the only evidence of infection may be a positive PPD or other test for TB.
The Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis (ACET) recommends that the following groups be screened for TB and TB infection:
- Close contacts (i.e., those sharing the same household or other enclosed environments) of persons known or suspected to have TB
- Persons infected with HIV
- Persons who inject illicit drugs or other locally identified high-risk substance users (e.g., crack cocaine users)
- Persons who have medical risk factors known to increase the risk for disease if infection occurs
- Residents and employees of high-risk congregate settings (e.g., correctional institutions, nursing homes, mental institutions, other long-term residential facilities, and shelters for the homeless)
- Health-care workers who serve high-risk clients
- Foreign-born persons, including children, recently arrived (within 5 years) from countries that have a high TB incidence or prevalence
- Some medically underserved, low-income populations
- High-risk racial or ethnic minority populations, as defined locally
- Infants, children, and adolescents exposed to adults in high-risk categories
Reference:
Bloch AB. Screening for Tuberculosis and Tuberculosis Infection in High-Risk Populations Recommendations of the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis. MMWR 8 September 1995:44(RR-11);18-34.
Found at Internet site: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00038873.htm
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