Tuberculosis Prevention in College Students

• Published in: Journal of American college health Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 53 - 58
• Main Authors: Lerman, Stephen J., Bernardo, John, Daly, Jennifer S., Husson, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Heldref 01.09.2004; Heldref Publications; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Advisory Committees; At Risk Persons; Attitude to Health; Citizenship; College Students; Communicable Disease Control - organization & administration; Computer Mediated Communication; Disease Control; Diseases; Electronic Mail; Enrollment; Female; Foreign Countries; Foreign Students; Health Promotion; Health Services; Humans; Immigration; Male; Mass Screening - organization & administration; Massachusetts; Measurement Techniques; Medical diagnosis; Medical screening; Medical treatment; Prevalence; Prevention; Primary Prevention - methods; Public Health; Risk Assessment; Risk-Taking; Screening Tests; Student Health Services; Test Results; Travel; Tuberculin Test; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - epidemiology; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - prevention & control; United States; United States - epidemiology; Universities; United States; Massachusetts; United States > US
• ISSN: 0744-8481; 1940-3208
• DOI: 10.3200/JACH.53.2.53-58

To help college health services in all parts of the country improve their approach to latent tuberculosis, two Listservs were provided for them to post their questions on dealing with TB infection. In this article, the authors present some of the questions posted in the Listservs and their corresponding answers. In their answers, the authors have tried to highlight areas of agreement, continuing controversy, and discrepancies between the Massachusetts recommendations and those of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College Health Association. The authors conclude that a successful program of risk assessment, targeted tuberculin skin testing, and treatment of latent TB infection benefits both the individual student and the college community. Such an approach prevents cases of active TB and also uses college health service financial resources and personnel time efficiently.