Delaware TB Testing Guidelines for Home Care Agencies

Each state has their own set of guidelines and requirements for Tuberculosis (TB) testing, prevention, and reporting; these statutes are often hidden in confusing and wordy documents, so we wanted to clear them up for you in a more concise way. Here are Delaware’s requirements forTB testing, prevention, and more:

1. Any person suspected of possibly being infected with TB who is unable to afford the cost of possible hospitalization will be hospitalized at a public expense. (7.5.1)
   
2. Any health care provider who is treating or has treated a person with diagnosed, suspected, or treated TB must report the case to the Division of Public Health. (7.5.2.1)
   
   (a.) These reports have to specify the infected person’s information such as name, address, date of birth, race, ethnicity, gender, date of onset, site of disease, prescribed anti-TB medications, and, in the case of laboratory administrators, the name and address of the submitting health professional. (7.5.2.1.1)
   
   (b.) A report also must be telephoned into the Division of Public Health within two working days of the service or lab finding.
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3. Any person who is in charge of the lab/facility where the positive test results came from must also notify the Division of Public Health within two working days of the occurrence(7.5.2.2)
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4. People with TB who have not adhered to prescribed treatment, refused medication, or show evidence not taking medication must be reported to the Division of Public Health within two days of the occurrence.
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5. Any person suspected of having infectious TB must have a Tb skin/blood test, a chest radiograph, or lab exam of bodily fluids if required by the Division Director or designee to determine whether the person actually has infectious TB. (7.5.3.1)

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