CDC | TB | Infection Control and Prevention

Tuberculosis

Infection Control and Prevention

Infection Control in Health Care Settings

All health care settings need an infection-control program designed to ensure prompt detection, airborne precautions, and treatment of persons who have suspected or confirmed TB disease. In order to be effective, the primary emphasis of the TB infection-control program should be on achieving these three goals.

In all health-care settings, particularly those in which persons are at high risk for exposure, policies and procedures for TB control should be developed, reviewed periodically, and evaluated for effectiveness to determine the actions necessary to minimize the risk for transmission of TB.

Infection Control in Health-Care Settings (Fact sheet)
Respiratory Protection in Health-Care Settings (Fact sheet)

What to Do If You Have Been Exposed to TB

If you think you have been exposed to someone with TB disease, you should contact your doctor or local health department about getting a TB skin test or a special TB blood test. Be sure to tell the doctor or nurse when you spent time with the person who has TB.

More: What to Do If You Have Been Exposed to TB

Preventing Latent TB Infection from Progressing to TB Disease

Many people who have latent TB infection never develop active TB disease. But some people who have latent TB infection are more likely to develop active TB disease than others. Those at high risk for developing active TB disease include

People with HIV infection
People who became infected with TB bacteria in the last 2 years
Babies and young children
People who inject illegal drugs
People who are sick with other diseases that weaken the immune system
Elderly people
People who were not treated correctly for TB in the past

If you have latent TB infection and you are in one of these high-risk groups, you need to take medicine to keep from developing active TB disease. This is called treatment for latent TB infection. There are several treatment options. You and your health care provider must decide which treatment is best for you. If you take your medicine as instructed by your doctor or nurse, it can keep you from developing active TB disease. Because there are less bacteria, treatment for latent TB infection is much easier than treatment for TB disease. A person with active TB disease has a large amount of TB bacteria in the body. Several drugs are needed to treat active TB disease.

Preventing Exposure to TB Disease While Traveling Abroad

Travelers should avoid close contact or prolonged time with known TB patients in crowded, enclosed environments (for example, clinics, hospitals, prisons, or homeless shelters).

Travelers who will be working in clinics, hospitals, or other health care settings where TB patients are likely to be encountered should consult infection control or occupational health experts. They should ask about administrative and environmental procedures for preventing exposure to TB. Once those procedures are implemented, additional measures could include using personal respiratory protective devices.