TB

This report in the form of a notice to readers states that CDC in conjunction with the American Thoracic Society expects to issue new guidelines on screening and preventive therapy for TB that will include a recommendation on the use of the two-month regimen of daily rifampin and pyrazinamide (2RZ) as an alternative to 12-month isoniazid for prevention of TB in HIV-negative persons for whom preventive therapy is indicated. A comparative trial of the 2RZ regimen in HIV-negative persons has not been conducted.

This manual provides information about TB program reviews and planning and technical support. It provides a view of international partnership towards the goal of eliminating TB.

This report reviews the new CDC guidelines about TB screening for immigrants and the medical treatment of infected persons. Recent immigration trends and the epidemiology of TB among immigrants is examined. The report discusses the prioritization of TB case finding, screening, and preventive therapy for immigrants in the overall elimination of TB in the United States. It includes recommendations to improve epidemiologic reporting on the federal, state, and local levels for foreign-born persons in the US.

This notice explains that on September 30, 1999, the Food and Drug Administration approved a reformulated amplified Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Direct (MTD) test for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in acid-fast Bacille (AFB) smear-positive and smear-negative respiratory specimens from patients suspected of having TB.

This report describes the investigations of two TB outbreaks that occurred in two state correctional institutions with dedicated HIV housing units. In each outbreak, IS6110-based DNA fingerprinting of Mycobacterium (MTB) isolates linked all cases. During the 4-month intervals between identification of the two male index case-patients, one of whom later died of miliary TB, and chest radiograph screening of all the contacts remaining in the housing unit, 190 inmates had been released.

This book describes the procedures used in the Fast Track program, a program of the Charles P. Felton National Tuberculosis Center of Harlem Hospital that provides treatment for health care workers with latent TB infection, and delineates methods that may be useful for other institutions to develop similar programs.

Because TB treatment is inextricably involved in a host of psychological, social, and economic problems, this manual was developed to help providers establish and enhance social support services in a TB clinic. The purpose of the manual is to help the worker establish social services, develop a therapeutic alliance with clients, create an intake form to identify barriers to TB treatment and formulate goals to reduce those barriers and to increase client functioning, counsel and help clients achieve their goals, form support groups, and lead or participate in case management.

This manual provides a structured plan for the training, development and evaluation of healthcare workers involved in contact investigation. It focuses on interview techniques and communication skills and provides data collection instruments for the provision of objective feedback to the interviewer.

This study examined the clinic records of TB programs to determine whether these programs used recommended practices to manage HIV-positive persons exposed to TB. The study suggests that TB programs need to review their contact investigation policies, procedures, and outcomes to reduce missed opportunities for preventing active TB among HIV-positive close contacts.