Sorry, but not 100 % correct
Hi Rajesh,
Well, I\'m a practicing physician in the US and I found your letter interesting. Firstly,what you have said about BCG vaccination giving you a +ve PPD is correct but everyone who has received BCG does not have to have a +ve PPD. Secondly and much more important is that the US recommendations for a person with +ve PPD is to take 6-12 months Isoniazid even if he has a negative chest X-ray
( by the way Isoniazid has nothing to do with Penicillin ). Of course, if you have a +ve X-ray, then you need 3 or 4 meds. So a doctor in the US is correct in saying that you need Isoniazid for a +ve PPD. Outside the US, because TB is so rampant, guidelines may be different.
However, I agree with you that just having a +ve PPD is no reason to have a delay in fingerprinting. All that the INS doc. has to do is to write that he has recomended that you see a regular MD for treatment ( actually it\'s prevention rather than treatment )with Isoniazid.