Tuberculosis Testing : Positive PPD; Negative Xray; Refered to county HD: Experiences

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mumbX001

New Member
Hi,

As most Indians, I had BCG vaccine (with no proof) in India.
According to the usual protocol, for the immigration, I was found positive for Tuberculin-PPD, Negative for X-Ray, and refered to the local Health Depatment.

What happens next ? Any experiences ?

I checked the Texas Health department, and the protocol is preventive chemotherapy for Tuberculosis, if I am below age 35 and nothing if I am above 35.

The doctor returned my I-693 in the sealed envolope and I have sent it for filing with the I-485.

Am I expecting a RFE, to check if medication was taken or something ? or will the I-485 sail through with no issues.

MumbX001
 
Hi mUMBX001

As most Indians, I had BCG vaccine (with no proof) in India.
According to the usual protocol, for the immigration, I was found positive for Tuberculin-PPD, Negative for X-Ray, and refered to the local Health Depatment.

DON'T WORRY. MOST OF THE ASIANS WILL GET +VE IN TB TEST. AS LONG AS XRAY IS CLEAN YOU SHOULD BE OK

Am I expecting a RFE, to check if medication was taken or something ? or will the I-485 sail through with no issues.

I DON'T THINK FOR THIS REASON YOU WILL GET RFE. ONE MORE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT IF YOU TAKE MEDICINE (NIH - NAME OF THE MEDICINE) FOR TB (MEDICATION FOR 6-9 MONTHS) THERE MIGHT BE SIDE EFFECTS MEANING LIVER ENZYME LEVEL MIGHT GET ELEVATED. THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH THIS KIND OF MEDICATION. IT HAPPENED TO MY FRIEND AND THE DOCTOR ASKED HIM NOT TO CONTINUE THE MEDICINE.
 
madgu-gc2005 said:
Hi mUMBX001

As most Indians, I had BCG vaccine (with no proof) in India.
According to the usual protocol, for the immigration, I was found positive for Tuberculin-PPD, Negative for X-Ray, and refered to the local Health Depatment.

DON'T WORRY. MOST OF THE ASIANS WILL GET +VE IN TB TEST. AS LONG AS XRAY IS CLEAN YOU SHOULD BE OK

Am I expecting a RFE, to check if medication was taken or something ? or will the I-485 sail through with no issues.

I DON'T THINK FOR THIS REASON YOU WILL GET RFE. ONE MORE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT IF YOU TAKE MEDICINE (NIH - NAME OF THE MEDICINE) FOR TB (MEDICATION FOR 6-9 MONTHS) THERE MIGHT BE SIDE EFFECTS MEANING LIVER ENZYME LEVEL MIGHT GET ELEVATED. THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH THIS KIND OF MEDICATION. IT HAPPENED TO MY FRIEND AND THE DOCTOR ASKED HIM NOT TO CONTINUE THE MEDICINE.
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That is the exact reason of my worry, the Mantoux test even though a "proven" test is a test of the 1930's (I guess). The INH(Isoniazid) tratement is a discovery of the 50's or 60's with known side effects and is still given in the 21'st century. The problem some say is that the developed countries took are of the TB problem long ago and hence probably did not invest in researching advanced medication for their public health system. For the minority of immigrants who come here they still have the same medication. Most doctors would be reluctant to give the medication for BCG vacinated patients, however have to follow the CDC guidelines.
Click to expand...


Isoniazid
http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2005/Isoniazid/index.html
Click to expand...
 
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I personally feel that if GC is denied for not taking INH medicine by spoiling our health BETTER I WILL PREFER TO LEAVE THIS COUNTRY. Because some doctor just experiment with the patient and then they say no your liver enzyme level got elevated. This is ridiculous. I hate this kind of experimenation with mankind. I agree that at one point you should do clinical trial when a drug is going to appear in the market. Most of the asians will have positive test for TB. Does it mean everybody is going to get TB in the near future. Chances will be about 5% not more than that. Thanks for the link. I will send it to my friend too.
 
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mumbX001 said:
Hi,

As most Indians, I had BCG vaccine (with no proof) in India.
According to the usual protocol, for the immigration, I was found positive for Tuberculin-PPD, Negative for X-Ray, and refered to the local Health Depatment.

What happens next ? Any experiences ?

I checked the Texas Health department, and the protocol is preventive chemotherapy for Tuberculosis, if I am below age 35 and nothing if I am above 35.

The doctor returned my I-693 in the sealed envolope and I have sent it for filing with the I-485.

Am I expecting a RFE, to check if medication was taken or something ? or will the I-485 sail through with no issues.

MumbX001
Click to expand...

I was in the same situation. My TB test was positive but X-Rays were ok. It basically happens because there is too much of a TB virus in your system. In my homecountry, they believe that since you get so many TB shots in your childhood, the only way to determine if you have TB or not is X-Rays, so they do not do shots for people over certain age... anyways I also got a sealed envelope from a doctor and they indicated that I was fine... so do not worry, you'll be OK!!
 
in my spouse's case, the mantoux test cause her skin to show a bump because she had TB earlier... But still the doctor gave a clean report to USCIS because he forgot to inspect her hand properly !
 
If your skin test is positive (which is the case very often) but your X-ray is normal, you ARE good to go. I don't think you'll get any RFE.
 
Right. Even if the TB skin test shows positive, as long as your Chest X-Ray is clear, your Medical Report should be OK. I've never heard of anyone getting an RFE to check if some INH pills were taken to supposedly "cure" the TB.
 
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