Guidelines for the Investigation of Contacts of Persons with Infectious Tuberculosis

Abstract

With limited exceptions, only patients with pulmonary or laryngeal TB can transmit their infection (8,9). For contact investigations, pleural disease is grouped with pulmonary disease because sputum cultures can yield M. tuberculosis even when no lung abnormalities are apparent on a radiograph (10). Rarely, extrapulmonary TB causes transmission during medical procedures that release aerosols (e.g., autopsy, embalming, and irrigation of a draining abscess) (see Contact Investigations in Special Circumstances) (11-15) CDPH/CTCA supports the investigation of contacts to cases of pleural TB. Addendum 4 Addendum 5 Please see the CDPH/CTCA revision to CDC Figure 1 and CDC Tables 2 and 3 in Addendum 6 on pp. 13-16.