Tuberculin Skin Test

A tuberculin skin test is done to find people who have tuberculosis (TB), including:

• People who have been in close contact with someone known to have TB.
• Health care workers who are likely to be exposed to TB.
• People with TB symptoms, such as an ongoing cough, night sweats, and unexplained weight loss.
• People who have had an abnormal chest X-ray.
• People who have had a recent organ transplant or have an Reference impaired immune system Opens New Window, such as those with Reference human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Opens New Window.

A tuberculin skin test should not be done for people:

• With a known TB infection.
• Who have had a previous severe reaction to the TB antigens.
• Who have a skin rash that would make it hard to read the skin test.

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