Tuberculosis testing doesn't look for active disease directly — it looks for evidence your immune system has met the TB bacterium. The skin test (Mantoux/PPD) injects purified protein under the skin; if your immune system recognizes it, a firm raised area develops within 48–72 hours, which a trained provider measures.
The QuantiFERON-TB Gold blood test exposes a sample of your blood to TB proteins in the lab and measures the immune response — more precise, one visit, and unaffected by prior BCG vaccination.
A positive on either test means TB exposure at some point, not necessarily active disease — the next step is a chest X-ray and symptom review, which we can coordinate.
