Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease caused by bacteria that can quickly invade any organ of the body, most commonly the lungs, and damages the tissue. General symptoms include weight loss, fever, excessive night sweats, and localized pain at the site of the infection. Symptoms of TB infection in the lung include excessive coughing accompanied by blood, sputum, or chest pain
The TB skin test (“Mantoux”) is done by injecting a small quantity of a harmless testing fluid underneath the skin of your forearm with a very small needle. You must return to the health department within 48-72 hours to have the testing site examined. Failure to return within 48-72 hours will result in invalid results and the test will have to be repeated. Some agencies require a two-step TB skin test. This means that a week after reading the results of the first TB skin test, you would need to come back in again and repeat the entire process as a double-check.
There is a fee of $15.00 for each TB skin test.
It is available to all residents of Winnebago County
For more information on TB skin testing, please refer to these websites:
