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Tuberculosis (TB) Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment

The Board of Health offers TB screening, diagnosis, and treatment.

The services include:

  • Skin tests
  • Blood tests
  • Chest x-rays
  • Consultation
  • Treatment for latent infection and active disease
  • Monitoring


Appointments preferred. Walk-ins are welcome on a limited basis.

 

Tuberculosis Q & A’s

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs. But, TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidneys, spine, and brain. If not treated properly, TB disease can result in death.

TB was once the leading cause of death in the U.S. However, with increased funding and attention, there has been a steady decline in the number of people with TB since 1993. But TB continues to be a problem.

TB is spread through the air from one person to another. The bacteria are put into the air when a person with active TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected. 

TB in other parts of the body, such as the kidney, spine or brain usually cannot be spread to others.

For most people who breathe in TB bacteria and become infected, the body is able to fight the bacteria to stop them from growing. The bacteria become inactive, but they remain alive in the body and can become active later. This is called latent TB infection.

TB bacteria can become active if the immune system can’t stop them from growing. The active bacteria begin to multiply in the body and cause active TB disease.

People with TB infection have the bacteria that cause TB in their body. They are not sick because the bacteria lie inactive and do not spread to others. Medicine is often prescribed for those with latent TB infection to prevent them from developing active TB disease.

People with TB infection may develop active TB disease. They usually have one or more symptoms. They include fever, a cough that lasts more than two weeks, coughing up blood, weight loss and feeling sick or weak.

Tuberculin skin test: A TB skin test can be done at our center or by your personal physician. A healthcare professional must check the skin test in two or three days. Your body’s reaction to the test reveals whether or not you have been infected with the TB bacteria.

If the skin test is positive, you will be given other tests to see if you have TB infection or TB disease.

TB Blood test: This test uses a blood sample to find out if you are infected with TB bacteria. This test can be done at the TB Clinic. Only one visit is required.

Chest x-ray: A chest x-ray service is made by exposing a film to x-rays that pass through the chest. The doctor can look at this film to see whether TB bacteria have damaged the lungs.

If you have TB infection, you may need treatment to reduce the chance of developing disease. If you have TB disease, it can almost always be treated and cured with medicine. But the medicine must be taken as directed.

The TB Clinic provides testing, diagnosis, infection and disease treatment, monitoring and education.

For more information call:

(404) 294-3700

SERVICE ALERT:

Due to unplanned maintenance,
our Clifton Springs Health Center will be on CLOSED on Monday, November 4, 2024.

Our East DeKalb, T. O. Vinson and North DeKalb
Health Centers remain open to serve you.

We apologize for any inconvenience and
appreciate your understanding. 

SERVICE ALERT:

Due to unexpected maintenance, our Clifton Springs Health Center will be closing early today at 2:30 p.m.
We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. Thank you!

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, on October 13, 2025, in observance of the state holiday.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, on September 1, 2025, in observance of Labor Day.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, July 4, 2025, in observance of Independence Day.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, June 19, 2025, in observance of Juneteenth.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed, May 26, 2025, in observance of Memorial Day.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed April 18, 2025, in observance of the State holiday.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed January 20, 2025, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr’s Birthday.

SERVICE ALERT:

Our health centers will be closed on January 1, 2025, in observance of the State holiday.

AIR QUALITY UPDATE 

Current weather models show that winds will begin to shift
from the east to the west after sunset on Wednesday.

Smoke from the BioLab facility fire in Rockdale County is predicted to settle towards the ground as it moves toward Atlanta. There is a high likelihood that people across Metro Atlanta will wake up on Thursday morning seeing haze and smelling chlorine.

For more information about health precautions, click here.

last updated 10/2/2024 at 5:45 p.m.

Warning SERVICE ALERT UPDATE Warning

DeKalb Public Health will resume normal operations
for all health centers and services at 8:15 a.m.,
on Monday, September 30.

SERVICE ALERT 

Due to today’s worldwide cybersecurity outage, some services have been impacted.

  • You may experience delays reaching our Call Center, which handles health center appointments.
  • WIC benefit issuance is unavailable at this time. However, eWIC cards can still be used at authorized WIC vendors.


This outage has not only affected DeKalb Public Health, but other government and business services, in Georgia, throughout the nation and internationally.

We apologize for the inconvenience and greatly appreciate your patience, as we work with our partners to fully restore systems.

SERVICE ALERT: Our health centers will be closed on Tuesday December 24 and Wednesday, December 25th, in observance of the holiday. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

SERVICE ALERT: Our health centers will be closed on November 28-29th, in observance of the State holiday.

SERVICE ALERT: Our health centers will be closed on Monday, November 11th, in observance of the Veterans Day holiday.

SERVICE ALERT: Our health centers will be closed on Monday, October 14th, in observance of the State holiday.

SERVICE ALERT: Our health centers will be closed on Monday, September 2, in observance of the holiday. Have a safe and healthy Labor Day! 

SERVICE ALERT

In observance of Juneteenth, all DeKalb Public Health centers will be closed on Wednesday, June 19th. #happyjuneteenth

SERVICE ALERT: Our health centers will be closed on Thursday, July 4th, in observance of the Federal Holiday. Have a safe and healthy Fourth of July!