tb skin test

hi my mom has just been diagonsed with tb through a skin test but has not been confirmed with a chest x ray. she has no symptoms how is it possible that she can have it. i heard it cud be inactive but then how did she get it. no1 in our family has the symptoms described for tb . nd u can only transmit it when u have an active 1 ? right ?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
Only TB of lungs presents with the typical symptoms of cough, blood in sputum etc. TB of bone, gut, genital organs like uterus etc all present with only weight loss and non specific symptoms. In early stages, there may be no weight loss. Also a person can catch TB if he/she lives in an endemic area, has come in contact with a person suffering from TB. To confirm and to avoid confusion, a 2 step montoux test is done. The inoculums is give subdermally and the patient called after 48-72 hours. If the reaction is positive, the person is considered infected. If the reaction is negative, a second test is given 1-3 weeks later. Again the reading is taken 48-72 hours later. If second test is positive, the person is considered infected previously (no current infection). If it is negative, the person is not infective. Also TB antibodies are tested for, and if positive, a person is considered infected.
Do discuss this with your mother's treating doctor. Take care!