Solved

In the Tuberculin Skin Test, What Would Be the Most

Question 71

Multiple Choice
In the tuberculin skin test, what would be the most likely reason why a positive test would NOT necessarily indicate an infection in progress in a patient who was born and grew up in the United States?

In the tuberculin skin test, what would be the most likely reason why a positive test would NOT necessarily indicate an infection in progress in a patient who was born and grew up in the United States?


A) False-positives occur all the time. This might simply be an example of that.
B) The TB skin test is a measure of reactivation of memory T cells. The memory T cells would be formed during an active infection and would remain after the infection cleared. This would result in the test still showing positive, even though the patient is cleared of actual infection.
C) Each person in the United States receives the BCG tuberculosis vaccine. This is an attenuated mycobacterium vaccine. The response to this vaccine makes us positive for the TB skin test, even though we may not have actually had a TB infection at any point in our lives.
D) A positive TB skin test ALWAYS indicates a current, active infection.

Correct Answer:

verifed

Verified

Unlock this answer now
Get Access to more Verified Answers free of charge

Related Questions

Unlock this Answer For Free Now!

View this answer and more for free by performing one of the following actions

qr-code

Scan the QR code to install the App and get 2 free unlocks

upload documents

Unlock quizzes for free by uploading documents