Tuberculosis Program
Mission
To control the person-to-person spread of Tuberculosis (TB), prevent illness and ensure treatment of disease due to tuberculosis within Rhode Island.
What we do
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Monitor reports of TB to ensure that all suspected and confirmed cases of TB are identified.
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Analyze trends in diagnosed cases.
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Refer individuals for treatment of active and latent tuberculosis.
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Monitor the status of individual TB cases, medical follow-up of patients, adherence of patients to drug regimens, and assure completion of therapy.
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Provide directly observed therapy (DOT) to all active TB cases in Rhode Island to assure adherence, ensure a quick response to any adverse reactions and assure completion of an adequate treatment regimen.
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Determine if people with newly diagnosed cases are contagious.
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Assure isolation of contagious cases until non-infectious.
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Identify people who may have been exposed to contagious cases, screen them for TB, identify those who have become infected, and refer them to treatment
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Plan and implement public health responses to outbreaks of tuberculosis.
Rhode Island Department of Health