Tuberculosis screening for international students.
Nonimmigrant, international students entering colleges in the United States are not required to undergo screening for tuberculosis (TB). Thirty-nine percent of active TB cases in the United States are in foreign-born individuals. In an effort to minimize the occurrence of active TB on a community campus with an increasing international student population, the college health service implemented a TB-screening policy for all newly enrolled international students. For the 1997/98 school year, 171 international students from 70 different countries enrolled in classes. Fifty-nine students (35%) screened for TB had a positive skin test (greater than 10 mm induration). Of those, 34 initiated isoniazid therapy, and 27 successfully completed the prescribed regimen under supervision of the campus health office.
Norton
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Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003906:Developing Countries; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007484:Iowa; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D013333:Student Health Services; D013334:Students; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014495:Universities