Tuberculosis expert recommends aggressive treatment for TB positive babies; Health Dept. doesn't specify treatment - KVIA.com

An infectious disease expert who's treated dozens of babies and children with Tuberculosis said the baby who tested positive for the infection should be immediately treated with at least three medications, hospitalized and given a spinal tap to ensure the infection has not traveled to the brain.

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Dr. Gilbert Handal, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, said babies that young have not fully developed their lymph nodes which means doctors can't truly discern if the baby has active or latent TB once the babies test positive using a skin test. "If they become positive, you have to treat them like (active) TB, the treatment of TB is with four drugs," Handal said Monday.

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