TB Exposure
Information for Individuals Potentially Exposed to Tuberculosis (TB)
A letter has been sent by San Francisco Public Health to all Students, Faculty and Staff who may have received a significant exposure to Tuberculosis. If you did not receive this letter San Francisco Public Health Department Letter you did not receive a significant exposure to TB and should not be concerned. The index case has not been on the SFSU campus since the end of November. For further information on TB please see CDC Tuberculosis information.
Potentially Exposed
If you received a letter San Francisco Public Health Department Letter from San Francisco Public Health that you may have been exposed to tuberculosis, you should go to the San Francisco Public Health Department TB clinic to get the test and bring a clearance form to the Registrar Office. Testing is FREE, however, the SFPHD will bill your health insurance if you have one.
Individuals who have been contacted by SF PHD may also attend the SFSU SHS on the dates when the SF PHD are on campus to perform TB skin testing. You will need to schedule a follow up appointment (2-3 days after administration) when your TB Skin Test (PPD) will be read.
Tom Hoynes of the SF PHD will provide TB screenings at the SHS during the week of December 18-22.
Specifically, he will test on Tuesday and Wednesday (1:00 4:30 pm) and will read results on Thursday and Friday (1:00 4:30 pm).
Students who fail to show up on the specified date must GO to the SF Department of Public Health TB Clinic located at San Francisco General Hospital - 4th Floor
2460 22nd Street
San Francisco CA 94110
Please call Tom Hoynes at (415) 206-3285 with questions regarding the public health clinic and he will assist you.
Be aware that if you don't comply with this advice, you will have a Registration hold and will not be able to register for classes at SFSU.
Tuberculosis Information:
Tuberculosis is a respiratory disease that is spread through airborne droplets and generally requires more than 12 hours of close contact for transmission to occur.
Many of those exposed will not become infected. Most of those who become infected will not progress from Latent TB to Active TB.
People with latent TB infection
- Have no symptoms
- Do not feel sick
- Cannot spread TB to others
- Usually have a positive skin test reaction
- Can develop active TB disease if they do not receive treatment for latent TB infection
- Treatment with medicine such as Isoniazid (INH) may be used to ensure that the disease does not progress from Latent TB to Active TB.
People who have been exposed to infectious TB AND who have had a positive PPD or positive TB blood test in the past will be referred to the San Francisco General Hospital TB Clinic for further investigation and treatment.
People who would prefer the blood test to the PPD skin testing will be referred to SFGH TB Clinic for further investigation.
People exposed to infectious TB can be tested by:
- A simple skin test (PPD).
- A blood test called QuantiFERON-TB Gold
- A PPD test will turn positive two-to-ten weeks after exposure if an infection has occurred.
- A negative PPD test must be repeated 3 months after the initial test
- A positive PPD skin or blood test DOES NOT mean a person has active tuberculosis, but it DOES mean that a follow-up chest x-ray is recommended.
- People who have a positive PPD and a negative chest x-ray AND who have been exposed to active TB are treated with medicines such as Isoniazid (INH).
QuantiFERON-TB Gold General information (PDF)
