Due to the overall decrease of Tuberculosis (TB) cases and low incidence of TB among Health Care Personnel (HCP) due to occupational exposure, routine practice of annual testing is no longer recommended for HCP. The recommendations for facility risk assessments and infection control practices did not change from the 2005 guidelines.
Because of the updates in best practice, DPH is rescinding circular letter DHCQ 07-07-477 and will remove the following associated documents from its website:
- Policy: Tuberculosis Testing and Treatment for Nursing Homes and Rest Homes
- Two Step Skin Testing: Nursing Home and Rest Home Residents
- Targeted Testing and Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection
Please review your health care facility’s TB screening, testing and treatment policies with your infection prevention and occupational health team members to ensure they align with these updated recommendations. TB information for health care personnel may be found on the DPH website. To view the full DPH memo, please click here. General TB information may be found on the DPH website.