TB Screening

Neither IGRAs nor TST can distinguish active TB from LTBI - Gina Gualano

TB Screening
TB Screening

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Tuberculosis Screening

Two screening test options are available to determine if a person is infected with the TB bacteria: the tuberculin skin test (TST) and the TB blood test.

Development of the TST began with Clemens von Pirquet, an Austrian-born scientist and physician who began using a small amount of isolated TB bacteria and scratching it into the skin to observe for a reaction. Expanding on the work of von Pirquet, Charles Mantoux developed the TST, which has remained, the standardized screening test for TB since 1907. The TST has also been called the Pirquet skin test, the Mantoux skin test, and the tuberculin sensitivity test.

TST can be administered the same day as live virus vaccinations.…

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Resources

 Tuberculosis Screening

Simultaneous testing with both TST and IGRA is not recommended. Neither test can discriminate between LTBI, TB disease, and treated infections.

CDC

There are two kinds of tests that are used to detect TB bacteria in the body: the TB skin test (TST) and TB blood tests. A positive TB skin test or TB blood test only tells that a person has been infected with TB bacteria. It does not tell whether the person has latent TB infection (LTBI) or has progressed to TB disease.

MedlinePlus

There are two types of TB tests used for screening: a TB skin test and a TB blood test. These tests can show if you have ever been infected with TB. They don't show if you have a latent or active TB infection. More tests will be needed to confirm or rule out a diagnosis.

StatPearls

The tuberculin skin test (TST) and the interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) are the current methods for screening and are based on the measurement of adaptive host immune response.

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