TB Testing

Ashland County has consistently had a low incidence of TB infection and TB disease but remains vigilant in screening, testing and follow-up.

  • TB testing is done at ACHD onTuesdays only
  • TB  appointments may be made for Tuesday testing. Please call 419-282-4357. 
  • Readings are done every Thursday afternoon from 2:00-3:30pm
  • A fee of $37 will be collected for Ashland County residents; a fee of $42 will be collected for out-of-county residents


Screening for TB risk:

Routine testing of persons at low risk for Latent TB Infection (LTBI) or TB disease is not recommended.  A screening tool is recommended to identify those who may have higher risk factors justifying actual testing.  However, some employers may elect to mandate periodic TB testing for certain higher-risk employees, rather than just screening. 

Screening is accomplished by completion of a simple questionnaire that assesses an individual's risk for TB.  See attached "Tuberculosis Screening form.  Answering “yes” to any of the questions necessitates further evaluation and testing to determine if the individual may have LTBI or active TB disease.

Printable Form:  Tuberculosis Screening Form

ACHD recommends use of screening questions (not to be confused with testing) for:

  • All new students and new staff entering a formal school system, e.g. kindergarten
  • Older students transferring from another school district
  • Foreign Exchange students
  • Students new to a university campus
  • Certain hospital employees who have contact with the OB Department (annual screening). 

ACHD recommends Mantoux TB testing of high-risk persons as identified by the screening tool.

High risk factors included on ACHD’s screening questionnaire include: 

  • Close or prolonged contact with someone with TB disease
  • Foreign-born person from high-prevalence area (Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, South/Central America)
  • Recent traveler (within past 5 years) to above areas
  • Chest x-ray suggestive of inactive or past TB
  • Resident or employee of high-risk congregate setting (e.g. correctional facility, nursing home, hospital, homeless shelter) – 2-step on hire or admission, single step annually thereafter
  • Chronic immunosuppression from prolonged corticosteroid or prednisone use, or other immunosuppressive therapy
  • Injection drug user/ substance abuse (alcohol /cocaine)
  • Any of the following medical conditions:  diabetes mellitus, silicosis, cancer of head or neck, Hodgkin’s disease, leukemia, end-stage renal disease, intestinal bypass or gastrectomy, chronic malabsorption syndrome, organ transplant recipient, HIV infection
  • Health care workers who serve high-risk clients (see above)
  • Children exposed to adults in above high-risk categories
  • Symptoms of TB (bad cough for more than 2 weeks, coughing up blood, persistent fever, excessiveweight loss or fatigue, night sweats)
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