Tuberculosis control through contact investigation

With the resurgence of tuberculosis (TB) in the United States since 1984, much has been said of insuring proper treatment with modern therapy regimens and of patient compliance with medications. Yet, little has been said of the role of contact investigations associated with each case. TB control programs are uniquely prepared to perform these contact investigations. This article describes the contact investigations performed by a county TB program in one year to illustrate the effort involved.