Mom is in a good nursing home, with great care. She has tested P for TB with the skin prick method. Her father died of TB, and she was exposed to it growing up. What are the possible outcomes of this? Will they place her in a different facility for TB patients? I couldn't get any straight answers from the nurse there. She said she'd never had a positive TB test come up, so she didn't know what to expect either.
Usually a skin test is done. It's positive if there is a red, raised "bump" at the injection site. A positive test will be positive for life. From then on, the doctor orders a chest X-Ray. It is the only way to test for active disease.
Then a chest X-Ray, at intervals, will prove the existence (or not) of the disease. If it develops into TB, there is medication for it.
Just remember, being positive doesn't mean you have ACTIVE tuberculosis.
My dad became positive after living in two or three board and care homes. He never developed active TB.
As a nurse, I've taken care of active TB patients and I test negative.
Example: My wife had renal tuberculosis and nearly lost her kidney functions. Her lungs were clear but the recurring urinary infection led one DR to suspect something else.
He referred her to urology . Over fifty percent of her kidneys were full of those little TB critters. Two years of intense treatment cleared things up. Lots of pills each day for two years and frequent visits to the Urologist for kidney xrays with the dye.
Now it is dementia and no treatment available.
I don't know what the treatment is today but when I reacted positive to the skin test I was put a drug called INH for one year and no retest. I was advised to only have chest xrays.
I am not trying to diagnose anything here just sharing my own experience.