Is Latent TB a life sentence?

@wabjglover Is there a chance this may affect your employment/employability in lab settings in the future?
There have been issues over the years with the Q Gold test, yielding false positives anywhere from 10-30%.
https://biologyinsights.com/causes-of-false-positives-in-tb-blood-tests/
Since you have no recorded exposure and a negative chest x-ray, I would suggest you request a repeat test, using a different lot of the test and a different lab as soon as you can. If your employer disagrees, see if your primary will test you "due to your risk of workplace exposure."

If you get another positive result, I suggest a consult with an ID doc experienced in treating Latent TB for advice. My daughter (a jail nurse) was treated for Latent TB years ago after exposure and a positive Q Gold. Now she has to include a lengthy explanation in her health history on every application, and is afraid it may have caused AI to discard a few of them.

Is retesting a possibility for you?

Hello Sue,
Thank you for the quick replay. As to your first question, yes, there is every likelihood that this may limit my employment options in the future. I asked my employer for a retest and they denied the request, saying that even if it comes up negative on the second test, they will continue to believe the first positive test.
I then sought out guidance from my physician and my hospital’s ID expert. Both also informed me that hospital policy is to take the first positive result. They do not retest for any reason.
Therefore, I was left with testing outside of my employer and my insurance. I paid out-of-pocket for a Quest Quantiferon test. I’m still waiting on results. However, I’m not entirely confident in this test now. It seems that the longer I test negative, the more likely it will lead to a possible false positive. The question is, will that be enough? How long must I test negative before the original positive goes away. My fear is that it never will. Policies based on this test must be changed. I find this situation ridiculous and concerning. How many false positive patients are being treated with antibiotics they don’t need, in a time of widespread antibiotic resistance.
I feel like I have no options. Am I wrong? Any thoughts?

My best suggestion to you is that if the second test is negative, you take it to the hospital ID doc and ask to be excepted from treatment for latent TB until the next annual employer test. The only downside (for them) is that you will not be allowed to handle any TB tests u til next year, someone else in the lab will have to do it. If they refuse, I think you will need to appeal to HR, an outside ID doc, or to you state department of health.

I agree that avoiding a year-long round of antibiotics you don't need and the bother of having to document your future employment applications is worth some effort.

Slightly different situation but I always test positive for TB because I had the BCG vaccine as a kid in the UK. I lived in Hong Kong for 6 years where TP is still rampant so when I can to the US to live and needed a medical to get insurance the docs didn't believe that I was testing positive because of the BCG shot and insisted on putting me on the 6 month antibiotic regimen "just in case". Back then there wasn't the Quantiferon test at the end of the treatment so they just said I was good to go. Made applying for a Green Card and subsequent Citizenship a bit more interesting because you have to prove you don't have TB. I had to gather a lot of paperwork. I hope you get this sorted out.

I am so very sorry you are dealing with this. Two of my six Chinese children always test positive for TB because of BCG in China prior to being adopted. They had the drug that starts with I for nine months and had chest X-rays. I feel so bad for my GUI Hua because she has to deal with this whenever she gets a new job. She is 37 but always refers her employer to me. “ Call my mom, she will explain it.” It is unfortunate that in China a live virus was given as opposed to a dead virus- hence testing positive. Like you she doesn’t have TB. It isn’t considered latent. It is just due to the type of virus given with BCG. She also always tests positive for hep B. However , there are many types of hep B. She can not give it or get it- it is as if she had been vaccinated which she wasn’t. She somehow came in contact with it whether through her biological mom or as a child in the orphanage. I think education about TB and HepB is important. I have learned quite a bit since we started our journey in 1993. I am sorry you are dealing with the ramifications of BCG. It is NOT a life sentence. irene5

I found (at least in CA) that once Quntiferon test is positive, no one takes negative as a result, I talked with everyone includkng DPH and I just end up taking 6 months. I found study (might be nih that 6 months is sufficient as 9 months)
I didnt qualify for newer short course treatmemt, but there are shorter treatments available. I was hitting a wall to prove try to prove that positive was false positive as I had one Q-n negative sometimes after, but no one across wanted to accept. I did end up testing positive again sometimes along the road of trying, then i just decided to do 6 m treatment. I also received BCG as a child, although notion in research papers i read, Q- n test not BCG sensitive. I am also in healthcare and every year for about 10+ years i was getting hard time from employee health during annual tb testing. Now i am done trying to fight, just fill out annual paper.