Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne transmissible disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually affect the lungs but can also attack other organs in the body, such as the kidneys, spine, and brain. The most common symptoms of TB are persistent cough with blood or sputum, fever, loss of appetite, weight loss and sweating at night. Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick.

Inactive or latent TB infection occurs when the TB bacteria infect the body but do not cause symptoms. Latent TB infection is not contagious, however, it can become active (contagious) later if not treated. Approximately 80% of active TB cases in the U.S. occur among people with untreated latent TB infection. More than 13 million people in the U.S. are estimated to have latent TB infection while less than 10 thousand cases of TB are identified annually. Think of it as an iceberg floating in the ocean, the tip above the surface represents the small number of persons with TB disease and the large hidden iceberg under the water represents the large number of persons with inactive TB infection.

Learn more about your risk for exposure and infection with the TB bacterium and what to do if you suspect TB disease symptoms at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) informative webpages on TB Disease and latent TB infection (LTBI).

• CDC TB Basics
• Risk Factors for TB Infection
• TB Symptoms and Signs
• Exposure to TB

For more information on tuberculosis or the #ThinkTestTreatTB campaign visit the website. 

For the public:

• TB is one of the world’s leading infectious disease killers.
• TB can live in your body for years without causing symptoms; this is called inactive TB or latent TB infection
• Without treatment, 1 in 10 people with inactive TB infection will get sick in the future. 
• Inactive TB can become active anytime and make you sick.
• Protect yourself and your family; ask you doctor about getting tested for TB if you have risk factors for TB infection. Risk Factors for inactive TB infection include: 
  • Spent time with someone who had active TB disease.
  • A condition that weakens the immune system, including diabetes and some medications.
  • Residence or travel to a country outside of the United States.

For Healthcare Providers:

As a healthcare provider, you play a critical role in reducing the spread of tuberculosis in the U.S. and your community. Protect your patients. cdc.gov/ThinkTestTreatTB

• Nevada TB Risk Assessment tool, click here to download a copy for use in medical practice.
• Short course LTBI treatments are effective, reduce a person’s lifetime risk of developing TB disease, and can be managed in the non-specialty practices.
• Learn more below under Provider Resources.

TB Disease and Latent TB Infection are reportable conditions in Nevada.

• TB Disease- confirmed or suspected cases must be reported within 24 hours; click here for the Nevada Confidential Morbidity Report Form.
• Latent TB Infection diagnosis (positive TB test, no symptoms or signs, and chest radiograph not consistent with TB disease) must be reported within five days; click here for the Nevada Confidential Morbidity Report Form.
• Nevada Administrative Codes requiring TB screening and surveillance in healthcare settings: NAC 441A.375 and NAC 441A.380.

Resources for Healthcare Facilities’ infection control program

• Nevada Healthcare Facilities TB Screening Manual, updated 2020
• Annual Nevada TB incidence and count data reports can be accessed below under “TB Data and Reports”.
• TB Infection control toolkit of multiple resources and links, click here.
• Infection Control Guidance, Chapter 2 of the Nevada TB Manual, see Nevada TB Manual below.
• Technical bulletins related to TB and other communicable diseases can be found here.
• Reporting LTBI or TB disease (suspected or confirmed) to local health authorities, click here for the State of Nevada Confidential Morbidity Report Form.

Technical bulletins on treatment and testing recommendations and updates can be found here. 

LTBI Diagnosis and Treatment resources

• LTBI Toolkit compiled by the DPBH TB for a list of online resources for diagnosis and treatment of LTBI can be found here.
• CDC Think.Test.Treat TB resources for testing, language appropriate educational materials for patients, and short-course LTBI treatments can be found here.
• Nevada TB Manual Chapters 5 and 6, LTBI Diagnosis and Treatment
  • Chapter 5: Diagnosis of LTBI
  • Chapter 6: Treatment of LTBI

TB Disease Resources

• TB Disease Toolkit compiled by the DPBH TB for a list of online resources for diagnosis and treatment of TB disease can be found here.
• Nevada TB Manual Chapters 3 and 4, TB Disease Diagnosis and Treatment
  • Chapter 3: Diagnosis of TB Disease
  • Chapter 4: Treatment of TB Disease

Rapid Mycobacterium tuberculosis identification with Nucleic Acid Amplification (NAA) Tests

• Slide set Using NAATs Effectively in MTB, learn more about using NAATs here.
• Technical Bulletin Using NAAT to Rapidly Detect MTB, 4/2022, learn more about using NAATs here.

Reporting suspected or confirmed TB disease and reporting LTBI to local health authorities

• Please click here for the State of Nevada Confidential Morbidity Report Form.

• Nevada TB Fast Facts – Nevada state-level and county-level TB epidemiologic surveillance data annual reports compiled for current year and prior 4 years. Archived reports may be requested from the DPBH Tuberculosis Program through the Office of State Epidemiology, stateepi@health.nv.gov.
  • 2023 TB Fast Facts
  • 2022 TB Fast Facts
  • 2021 TB Fast Facts
• Nevada TB Data Dashboard – Nevada state-level and county-level Communicable diseases and Tuberculosis data from the Nevada Office of State Epidemiology available here.
• TB in the United States Data and Statistics, annual reports from the CDC, available here.
• CDC TB Recommendation and Guidance from Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWRs) by Topics can be found here.

Chapters from the Nevada TB Manual

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Infection Control
• Chapter 3: Diagnosis of TB Disease
• Chapter 4: Treatment of TB Disease
• Chapter 5: Diagnosis of LTBI
• Chapter 6: Treatment of LTBI
• Chapter 7: Case Management
• Chapter 8: Contact Investigations
• Chapter 10: Surveillance
• Chapter 11: Targeted Testing for LTBI
• Chapter 12: Pediatric TB and LTBI
• Chapter 13: Patient Education
• Chapter 14: TB Confidentiality