On 5/28/2010 1:38 PM, Kurt Ullman wrote:
In ,
"Percival P. wrote:


I am certain that I had a BCG vaccination a few decades ago in Australia
before a trip to India, but I do *not* test positive when I get my
regular TB tests for the hospice where I volunteer.

Perce
I haven't had the vaccination or TB itself and yet I test positive.
Not that it means anything, btu I thought I'd throw it out there.

Hate to dispense unrequested medical advice, especially on the internet. You
tend to get what you pay for! However, if you test positive on a tuberculin
test, either the old fashioned Mantoux test (little bleb injected just under the
skin) or the tine test (tiny needles pushed onto your skin that just barely
break the surface) there are only 2 possibilities:

Either you are a valid positive, because your system has been exposed to TB (at
one time you have had the living TB bacteria in your system) or you are a false
positive (most common cause is have had a BCG inoculation but there are also
some medically significant causes). Best advice is that it should be explored
by a competent doc. If the false positive reading can be ruled-out (eliminated
as the reason), consideration should be given to providing you with a limited
course of anti-tuberculosis drugs to minimize the risk of the latent TB
infection activating some time in the future. Of course, there are all sorts of
valid medical reasons for not taking that course of meds, and a doc who is
familiar with your details and all of this should be your guide. If you are
unsure about your usual doc, request a consultation with an infectious disease
specialist.