Tuberculosis and TB testing
Welcome to the tuberculosis section of the Washington Travel Clinic website. This page contains valuable information on TB and how to test for it.
About TB:
TB is short for a disease called tuberculosis. TB is spread through the air from one person to another. TB germs are passed through the air when someone who is sick with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks, laughs, sings, or sneezes. Anyone near the sick person can breathe TB germs into their lungs.
TB germs can live in your body without making you sick. This is called latent TB infection. This means you have only inactive (sleeping) TB germs in your body. The inactive germs cannot be passed on to anyone else. However, if these germs wake up or become active in your body and multiply, you will get sick with TB disease.
When TB germs are active (multiplying in your body), this is called TB disease. These germs usually attack the lungs. They can also attack other parts of the body, such as the kidneys, brain or spine. TB disease will make you sick. People with TB disease in the lungs may spread the germs to people they spend time with every day.
TB testing:
TB testing is available at the Washington Travel Clinic. The blood test measures how a person’s immune system reacts to the germs that cause TB. The Washington Travel Clinic will collect the blood sample and send it to a designated lab. The cost of the test is $150. If the test is positive, we will provide you with counseling, refer you to have a chest X-ray done, review the X-ray result, and provide you with the necessary reports, at no extra charge.
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