I just found out that my best friend has tb, and has had it for years before I even met her. What are the chances of me getting it? How bad is it that we have shared drinks a lot? thanks! So if you were treated for it you would always still test positive? Does that mean you wouldn't be able to get certain jobs?
Infectious Diseases - 4 Answers
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1 :
You should get a TB test (its a simple skin test) and let the doctor know about your exposure.
2 :
Ditto what the other answer said, but it also depends whether they have -active- TB. If it isn't active, it isn't contagious. If it is active, it is highly contagious and airborne and she needs to be treated ASAP, not only for her sake but for the entire community you live in. But many people have been exposed to TB or have had TB and have been treated. They're still considered "positive" for TB, and will always have to be vigilant for any recurrence of the disease, but you can't catch it from them then.
3 :
She has, or at least had TB. Was she activley treated with antibiotics? If so you are both fine. For the record, the way people are tested for TB is sorta a one time deal. If you test positive once you will ALWAYS test positive. The reason for this is because the test measures your immune response to TB and that is what is injected into your skin (yes the virus is dead beforehand). So if you were tested for TB again, after an already positive result, you will continue to have positives for a very long time.
4 :
If it is not active she is not contagious. She would test positive if she ever tested positive before so she should not get skin tests. But if she does not have active TB she should not be excluded from work or school
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