Update on Annual TB Screening for Health Care Workers

On May 17, 2019, new recommendations on annual tuberculosis (TB) screening for health care workers were issued in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), and these recommendations have been adopted by the CDC. The 2005 CDC recommendations for testing U.S. health care personnel have been updated and now include:

• TB screening with an individual risk assessment and symptom evaluation at baseline (preplacement);
• TB testing with an interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) or a tuberculin skin test (TST) for persons without documented prior TB disease or latent TB infection (LTBI);
• No routine serial TB testing at any interval after baseline in the absence of a known exposure or ongoing transmission;
• Encouragement of treatment for all health care personnel with untreated LTBI, unless treatment is contraindicated;
• Annual symptom screening for health care personnel with untreated LTBI; and
• Annual TB education of all health care personnel.

These changes and recommendations can be found here and here.

Contact: Dawn Carter, dcarter@leadingageny.org, 518-859-1695