DISEASE NAME:
Tuberculosis (TB)
CATEGORY:
Vaccine Preventable
Tuberculosis (TB)
Tuberculosis or "TB" is a preventable and curable disease. It is caused by a bacterium (germ) called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB usually affects the lungs but it can also affect other parts of the body, including the glands, the bones and rarely the brain.
Guidance
National Tuberculosis Guidelines for Ireland 2024/2025
The New National Tuberculosis (TB) Guidelines for Ireland are currently being developed by an expert Guideline Development Group in collaboration with the Research and Guideline Development Unit (RGDU).
Importantly for your urgent attention, some of the terminology for TB is changing in these new national guidelines. In the latest chapters, Latent TB is now known as ‘TB infection,’ while Active TB is referred to as ‘TB disease.’ These and any other changes to terminology within the chapters are in line with updated guidelines published by the World Health Organization (WHO.)
The new guidelines will be published by individual chapter, in a phased approach over the next few months, with much of the content planned for publication in the run up to World TB Day in 2025. This is to support clinicians having the most timely information for action, as quickly as it is available. The new content and recommendations will supersede that of the previous Guidelines on the Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in Ireland, 2010 - Amended 2014 as they are published. Currently, newly developed Chapter 4: Tuberculosis (TB) Disease (formerly Active TB) and Chapter 5: Treatment of Cases with Drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB) are available online.
Issues in relation to specific groups, e.g. underserved populations, will be dealt with at a later stage in the process.
National Tuberculosis Guidelines for Ireland Chapter 1: Introduction
25, Jun 2025
417.64 KB
Chapter 2: Diagnosing and Managing TB infection
25, Jun 2025
278.26 KB
Chapter 3: Tuberculosis (TB) Disease
25, Jun 2025
332.35 KB
Chapter 4: Treatment of Cases with Drug-resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB)
25, Jun 2025
260.19 KB
National Tuberculosis Guidelines for Ireland - Chapter 6 - TB in Children and Adolescents
20, Mar 2025
153.26 KB
Chapter 7: Contact Tracing and Case Finding
26, Jun 2025
293.24 KB
Appendix 1: Tuberculin Skin Contradictions, Administration and Interpretation
26, Jun 2025
222.88 KB
***UNDER REVIEW*** Guidelines on the Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in Ireland, 2010 - Amended 2014
Chapter 1: Epidemiology and surveillance of tuberculosis
104.1 KB
Chapter 2: Methods of tuberculosis screening
163.69 KB
Chapter 3: Management of latent TB infection
224.17 KB
Chapter 4: Laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis
136.18 KB
Chapter 5: Clinical Management
106.01 KB
Chapter 6: Infection Prevention and Control
147.1 KB
Chapter 7: BCG vaccination
217.14 KB
Chapter 8: Contact tracing
266.16 KB
Chapter 9: Screening in special situations
433.62 KB
Chapter 10: TB and HIV infection
115.6 KB
Chapter 11: Education, research and information
37.45 KB
References
98.89 KB
List of appendices
1.24 MB
Case definition
Clinical criteria
Any person with the following two:
- Signs, symptoms and/or radiological findings consistent with active tuberculosis in any site
AND
- A clinician’s decision to treat the person with a full course of anti-tuberculosis therapy
OR
A case discovered post-mortem with pathological findings consistent with active tuberculosis that would have indicated anti-tuberculosis antibiotic treatment had the patient been diagnosed before dying
Laboratory criteria
- Laboratory criteria for a confirmed case
At least one of the following two:
- Isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (excluding Mycobacterium bovis-BCG) from a clinical specimen
- Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex nucleic acid in a clinical specimen AND positive microscopy for acid-fast bacilli or equivalent fluorescent staining bacilli on light microscopy
- Laboratory criteria for a probable case
At least one of the following three:
- Microscopy for acid-fast bacilli or equivalent fluorescent staining bacilli on light microscopy
- Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex nucleic acid in a clinical specimen
- Histological appearance of granulomata
Epidemiological criteria
NA
Case classification
A. Possible case
Any person meeting the clinical criteria
B. Probable case
Any person meeting the clinical criteria and the laboratory criteria for a probable case
C. Confirmed case
Any person meeting the clinical and the laboratory criteria for case confirmation
Current as of: 24 January 2019
Information, Data and Reports for Tuberculosis (TB)
Ireland’s specialist service for the surveillance of communicable diseases.