TB Testing

Students working in the health care professions are required to be tested regularly for exposure to tuberculosis. Other students may request testing if they have known exposure to TB or if they come from, or have spent significant time in, an area of the world in which TB is highly prevalent. The student’s clinician may request a TB test if there are clinical symptoms that suggest the need for testing or if the student has other illnesses that might make her/him more likely to contract TB.

The TB test is administered by injecting a small amount of protein derivative from the TB bacterium (not the bacterium itself) just beneath the skin and then examining the area at 48-72 hours for a reaction. It is essential that a health professional read this test at the proper time or the results are not reliable and the test may need to be repeated.

Even a "positive" reaction does not indicate the presence of TB but only of exposure to the disease. Appropriate follow-up, including chest x-ray, is essential.

The skin test for TB is done during specially scheduled "clinics" throughout the year. You must attend twice, the first visit for the test, the second 48 to 72 hours later for checking the result.

There is a charge for the administration of the TB test.