Quantiferon test TB IGRA tuberculosis
The IGRA test (or the Interferon Gamma Release Assay) is a blood test that can detect tuberculosis infection. Having the IGRA test done carries no risk. NOTE!!! SUBMIT THIS TEST MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY (NOT FRIDAY)
This test is often required for foreign country inspections.
For those infectious diseases for which there is a reporting requirement, we are required to report a positive result to your local GGD (more information).
The old Mantoux test indicates possible tuberculosis infection. This improved IGRA test can clarify this.
To have the test done, a blood test must be taken. The blood is examined in the laboratory for the presence of tuberculosis antibodies. After two to three weeks, the results of the test are emailed to you. If there is an infection, you will be called first.
The result is positive
If the result of the IGRA test is positive, it is very likely that you are infected with tuberculosis. There are then two possibilities:
- A contamination has taken place, but the person examined is not (yet) ill (latent infection).
- The examined has the disease tuberculosis (active infection).
The result is negative
If the result is negative, infection is unlikely but cannot be ruled out completely. How the tuberculosis doctor explains the result depends, among other things, on the (medical) history of the person examined. The doctor discusses what will happen next.
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that fortunately is becoming less common in the Netherlands. However, TB symptoms are difficult to link to the diagnosis of tuberculosis because it usually presents vague and common symptoms, such as fatigue. However, timely treatment is necessary worldwide about one and a half million people die from the infection every year.
Tuberculosis is also known as TB. It is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium "Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The infection often begins in the alveoli of the lung and is not contagious at that time. If the inflammation continues and does not heal itself, we speak of tuberculosis. The disease is then contagious.
Tuberculosis can affect other organs through the bloodstream.
Tuberculosis is spread through the air. A person infected with tuberculosis can spread the bacteria by coughing and/or sneezing. When someone else ingests this bacteria, they can become infected. Fortunately, only about 10 percent of people who contract the bacteria actually get sick. However, the infection may not manifest itself until later, when your resistance is low and your immune system can no longer fight the bacteria.
Tuberculosis is accompanied by fairly vague symptoms. This makes it difficult to diagnose tuberculosis. If you are infected with tuberculosis, you may experience the following symptoms:
- Coughing: With tuberculosis you cough a lot, because tuberculosis mainly affects the lungs. Sometimes it happens that during the coughing some blood comes out.
- Fatigue: When you are infected with tuberculosis, you feel tired and lifeless.
- Fever
- Night Sweats
- Weight loss: this weight loss is one of the causes of a decreased appetite that often accompanies tuberculosis.
- In some cases, a person has tuberculosis without any symptoms.
Is tuberculosis treatable?
There are preventive measures in the Netherlands to prevent infection with tuberculosis. Children under 12 years of age, at least one of whose parents comes from a country where tuberculosis is common, are vaccinated against tuberculosis. When traveling to a country where tuberculosis is common, you are advised to take a vaccination if you plan to stay in that country for more than a year.
If you are infected with tuberculosis, the treatment consists of a long-term course of antibiotics. You will then take various antibiotics for at least six months. Such antibiotic treatment can be accompanied by unpleasant side effects. If it turns out that the tuberculosis bacterium is resistant to the strongest antibiotics, treatment will take at least twenty months.
