Tuberculosis Policy

Tuberculosis is common in hospitalized patients in Kenya, and personal protective equipment common in the U.S. such as N95 masks will not be available.

 Pre-departure Screening: 

All travelers who plan to enter any clinical site in Kenya (including but not limited to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Shoe for Africa, and the Sally Test Center) should have a single tuberculin skin test (TST) or a single interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) before leaving the US.

Most often this will be done as a baseline assessment upon entrance to medical school/residency.

Travelers are encouraged to use Campus Health, their personal physician, or a travel clinic if tuberculosis screening is indicated.  Travelers with an immune-compromising medical condition (e.g. HIV, on chronic steroids or TNF-alpha inhibitors) are strongly encouraged to discuss risks with their health care provider prior to travel. Those at high risk of infection or active disease are highly encouraged to discuss this with a team leader upon arrival in order to minimize risk of exposure.

Post-rotation Screening: 

All travelers who had a negative pre-departure test and who entered a clinical site should have a single TST or IGRA repeated 8-10 weeks upon return.

References

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/clinician/children.extended_student.mission_disaster/kenya?s_cid=ncezid-dgmq-travel-single-002