[jeni1]

Hi Everyone!
My good friend brought her baby home in January -- she turned one last week!! She took her to an international clinic at the major hospital in the area who did all sorts of tests on her. The baby was given the BCG vaccine (for TB) in Guatemala and during the testing here she had a TB skin test that was very positive. The doctor then did a chest x-ray which was negative. Her local pediatrician wants to start her on TB medication which she will be on for 9 months and may affect her liver!
Has anyone gone through this?? Was the skin test a false positive because of the vaccination?? My friend has not heard back from the international clinic yet but is really hesitant to start her baby on such strong medicines that may hurt her liver if the skin test was a false positive!!
Any information would be greatly aprreciated!!
Thank you!
Jeni1
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[mardong]

Once you get the BCG vaccine you will test positive for TB because it is a live vaccine... Chest X-Rays are used to verify TB in that case... if they came negative, why is she being treated?

[Kaz99]

we didn't need meds. here is our story.

when we brought AJ home he had a bad cough. we took him to our pedi and requested a tb test. they did one and we had our Int'l doc read it on the appropriate day. He said it was positive. They did a chest xray an it was negative.
Here is the thing that bothered us....on AJ's shot list from Guatemala it stated he had BCG in June (he was born in April and came home in Nov). When we picked him up we were told he is on tylenol cause he just had a shot. But there was no shot on his record ?!?

He had a small red mark on his right upper arm. Our int'l doc said that was the BCG shot and he must of had it right before we picked him up. That is why his TB test was positive !!

We didn't do the drugs and AJ's cough went away on its own !! So just a cold !! He is fine.

Check the babies upper arms for a red spot. Is there one there ?

HTH
-Ran

[KKR213]

My doctor also wanted to put my son on the 9 months of medications but I hesitated and they ran additional tests to prove that the positive result was due to the vaccine. There was a post a few days ago about this also and someone named the test - Quantifuron (spelling?).

Good luck to your friend!

Oh, and in John's case the additional test did prove that the tb was from the vaccine and he did not need the medications. The doctor even said he was glad we didn't have to put him on the meds.

My situation was similar to Ran's and even though it said he received the shot when he was a month old I feel he didn't get it until the day I picked him up since his arm was oozing once he came home.

[Mindybeth6]

Believe it or not...it is actually untrue that you will always test positive with a BCG. I know children who have NOT tested positive. I was always under the assumption that you WOULD test positive but that is not always the case. You can tell her to read my blog because we are going through the SAME thing. It is in my siggy. I am also going to link you an article that explains it further. If the skin test measures over 10mm then it is considered postivie BEYOND the BCG. THe BCG should NOT cause a + skin test that exceeds 10mm according to my DR's and all the research I have done. My daughter's was over 10mm and yes, she had a BCG, she also has a negative chest X-ray. So she was most likely exposed to TB. Therefore, she will be going on the 9 months of medications. I have researched this medication and it is very, very safe in children. THey will be checking her liver levels throughout the course of treatment. I feel that it is better to have her on the meds rather then take the risk that she could develop TB. And like I said before, her TB result would not have been caused from the BCG since it was well over the limit.
Hugs
FCC: Tuberculosis testing and BCG

[bljack]

Im New Here Was Just Wondering What Agency You Were Talking About Not Using And Who You Are Using Now . Anybody Know Anything About Adoption Partners?

[Kaz99]

our Int'l Infectious Disease doc said kids should not be tested for TB until after 1 yr old. We are having AJ restested at his 1 yr check up.
-Ran

[Dee_ders]

Originally Posted by Kaz99

we didn't need meds. here is our story.

Check the babies upper arms for a red spot. Is there one there ?

HTH
-Ran

Just wanted to add that although they usually put it on the upper arm, it could also have been done on the legs.

Our dd (bio) had the BCG shot because we live overseas when she was 1. At two she was tested with a TB test that came out negative. We are supposed to get her tested again this summer.

Our ds (adopted) records from Guatemala state he had the BCG shot but when looking at his arms and legs he has no trace of it, so this summer when we are in the states it will be interesting to see what happens if they do the TB test.

Oh and for our dd it's totally possible for her to test negative the first time and then test positive later.

HUGS
Dee Dee

[hml1976]

The PP is right, the child may not always test positive for TB due to the BCG and if she does it should be under a certain measurement.

My daughter (from Kaz) received the BCG the day we got custody of her..grr... so her sore was still festering when we first took her to the ped. He is an international adoption specialist and recommended we wait 6mths before testing. We did and her test came back "borderline" probably due to the vaccine, but it wasn't crazy positive. We did the chest xray just to be safe and it was clear. We did not do the antibiotics.

Here's some info from the CDC on the BCG, scroll down for info on positive reactions.
Division of Tuberculosis Elimination - Fact Sheets - BCG Vaccine

[becky]

I would absolutely suggest the additional testing. It will clearly show whether the reaction is from the shot, or if your child is harboring or has been exposed to TB (chest x-rays are not always conclusive).

Good Luck!

[DianeS]

Originally Posted by becky

...or if your child is harboring or has been exposed to TB (chest x-rays are not always conclusive).

I absolutely second this statement. The chest X-ray can only show if the person has a active case of TB. The normal progression of the disease is that the person is exposed to TB and antibodies develop rather quickly. At this point, a skin test would be positive but a chest X-ray would be negative. It takes a while - sometimes months or years - for the disease to develop enough for a chest X-ray to show positive.

I'm a person who was exposed to TB as a child, although my chest X-ray thankfully showed clear. Because I test positive every time I have a skin test, I have to either provide proof I took my course of medication or I have to go get my chest X-rayed (depending on the requirements of whomever needs to know I don't have TB).

I'm glad to hear there's now a test to tell whether the skin test is positive because of the vaccine or because of exposure. That should save your kids some trouble. They didn't have such a test in the past - does anybody happen to know when it was developed?

[becky]

I think it was just developed a couple of years ago. One of our forum members was one of the first people I know of who used it for her daughter. She actually had to drive quite a distance I believe to find a clinic who even offered the test....

[jeni1]

Thank you everyone for your replys! My friend has heard back from the international clinic and they said her baby should be on the medicine because even though it might be a false positive it is highly probable that she was exposed to TB so the risks of the medicine are minor compared with the problems if she truely has been exposed and develops TB.
Thank you everyone again for your input!
Jeni1
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