Tuberculosis Information about At-Risk Populations: Department of Health

At-Risk Populations for Tuberculosis

People at high risk for Tuberculosis (TB) exposure and infection include:

Close contacts of persons exposed to contagious cases of TB

Foreign-born persons, including children, who have immigrated within the last 5 years from areas that have a high TB incidence

Residents and employees of high-risk congregate settings (prisons, nursing homes, homeless shelters, drug treatment facilities, and healthcare facilities)

Healthcare workers who serve high-risk clients

Some medically under served, low-income populations as defined locally

High-risk racial or ethnic minority populations defined locally as having an increased prevalence of TB

Infants, children, and adolescents exposed to adults in high-risk categories

Persons who inject illicit drugs or any other locally identified high-risk substance users

People at high risk for progression to TB disease once infected include:

Persons with human immunodeficiency virus HIV infection

Persons who were infected with M. tuberculosis within the past 2 years, particularly infants and very young children

Persons who have underlying medical conditions known to increase the risk of progression to active disease

Persons who inject illicit drugs

Persons with a past history of inadequately treated TB