Does anyone know anything about exposure to TB?

[User26273637837368282]

anyone experienced this?

relative died a few months ago. Post mortem has come back they had active TB they didn’t know they had, as well as a few other things going on so it wasn’t the only factor in death.

I had only seen said relative maybe once or twice in the 12 months before death for a a short time so I guess my risk is minimal however I do spend time with other relatives who did spend more time with active TB relative, what is the risk?

no one in the family have symptoms but we have been someone could have latent tb!

my doctors weren’t interested in my concerns. TB nurses has been in contact with the people who’s had the most contact and suggested blood tests. Do blood tests detected latent TB or just TB in general?

what would you do at this point? Apparently I can put myself forward for a blood test 🤷‍♀️

I had TB as a child. Had had it a fair time before it was picked up. It was a slum area and an older generation was dying from it a fair bit at the time. We were taught to cross the road if we saw someone coughing up blood, but somehow somewhere I picked it up.
None of my siblings or parent caught it from me, even though I'd been hacking up a lot at the point something was done, and TBH hygiene wasn't a thing in our lives.
There used to be the BCG vaccination which depending on your age you might have had? (normally top of the arm and left a cigarette burn type scar)

IME as an adult, generally they will test and re-test you if there's good reason to believe you might be carrying it. Travel and immigration has brought it back as an issue.
You can be tested for latent, or active TB or both.
If you're worried and you can put yourself forward to be tested, then do it. HTH.

You really have to have been living with someone with TB, in a fairly intimate family-type way for a longish period of time to be at risk of contracting TB from them. If you have any immunocomprise then you are more susceptible, but from what you say, your risk is extremely unlikely and you do not need investigating.

@Elleherd thank you for your detailed response. I have had the vaccination as a teenager. When I googled it, they stopped giving it routinely about 20 years ago or so so slightly younger relatives wouldn’t have had it, but I did!

@FadedRed thank you, this is what I thought too but a relative is scare mongering! I’m not immunocompromised thankfully!

Kind of similar but when I was in college, someone contracted TB and was hospitalised. Now, bearing in mind it was a large college and lots of different subjects and blocks - they tested every single student for TB (i.e to see if they were a carrier) and those who tested positive were given a course of tablets.

I would've thought those who had been in contact directly or indirectly would be offered a test - obviously can't do everyone but you'd think the family would be tested as a minimum.

You hardly ever saw them and you've had a BCG. You can't get much lower risk than that.

Found out as an adult that I'd had TB as a kid - nobody thought that much of the massive reaction I'd had to the Heaf test that meant I didn't need a BCG, but when I had a bunch of screening tests for biologic therapy, they confirmed that I'd definitely had it and cleared it, rather than it becoming latent.

Parental response to that information 'Oh, so that's what that awful cough you had was. I did wonder at the time if it was anything serious as you were too ill from the April before to start school for months and months'.

🙄

Anyhow, your relative is panicking a bit. You're fine.