North : ANAHEIM : TB-Testing Requirement Observed at Schools

Anthony Walker wasn’t sure how it would feel to have a nurse prick his skin for a tuberculosis test, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

As Anthony watched Kathy Prater slip a needle under the skin on his sister’s forearm, the first-grader at Mattie Lou Maxwell Elementary School started screaming.

Anthony, 6, was one of several who protested getting the test Monday as several hundred Magnolia School District kindergartners, first-graders and other new students attended a free TB screening clinic held at Dr. Albert Schweitzer Elementary School.

The clinic, sponsored by Martin Luther Hospital, was prompted by a newly enacted county requirement that all students new to a school in the county must be tested for TB.

Although there have been no reported active TB cases in the Magnolia district, officials wanted to make it easy for new students to be tested.

“Parents aren’t always able to get to the one clinic in the county were these tests are offered,” said Frances Jolly, district assistant superintendent.

Unlike previous TB tests that used a small, four-pronged device to inject small amounts of a culture extracted from the TB virus, the test now required involves injecting the culture under the skin with a needle.

The new tests, called the Mantoux method, must be read by a trained health care provider to determine if the child has a reaction that would indicate exposure to the TB virus. Previously, parents examined the site to determine if there was a reaction.

“This method is much more reliable,” said Dr. Frances Xavier, a pediatrician on hand to supervise the clinic. “And having a nurse read the test is crucial.”