Due to budget cuts initiated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Arkansas State Health Department is losing $350,000 in funding as a permanent cut. With these cuts in effect, the state will no longer be able to pay for testing, X-rays and medications for tuberculosis patients.
The changes will affect both international students at Harding and those who receive TB tests every year and will no longer take the TB skin test and will instead take the T-Spot Test, which is a blood-drawn test, according to the Arkansas State Health Department.
In July the T-Spot will be given to all international students on college campuses statewide. A reason behind the change in the type of test is the skin test’s ineffectiveness in showing accurate results, caused by the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine, used in other countries.
“They have found that the TB skin test, which we’ve used for many, many years, is not as effective for our foreign-born citizens and students as it is for our domestic students,” said Lynn McCarty, director of Harding University Health Services.
Statistics from the CDC website show that 60.2 percent of positive TB cases come from foreign-born citizens and students.
“It is not as effective since many foreign-born people receive a BCG vaccination early in life,” McCarty said. “This vaccination can cause a false positive with the TB skin test. For this reason, the Arkansas State Health Department has determined that people at risk should have a blood test instead. There are two types of blood tests, but Arkansas has chosen the T-Spot. It isn’t fooled by the BCG or atyplical bacterium. It is much more reliable.”
With this change in effect, colleges statewide are adapting to the new policies. Harding’s Health Services will continue to provide TB skin tests for domestic students enrolled in programs where the skin tests are required.
“Harding has been working to prepare for the impact of the change,” McCarty said.
Mary Bolin, assistant director of the Office of International Students Services said incoming freshmen and transfers from other countries will be given the T-Spot this fall, which will cost $50 per student. The test normally costs $295, but the state of Arkansas has been able to arrange a cheaper cost for students.
Other schools, such as Arkansas State University, is also feeling the effects of the budget cuts.
Renata Vaughn, director of the Health Center at Arkansas State University, said they too are having to make changes to their school policies. Starting in February they will conduct a trial run of the T-Spot testing on a smaller group of international students. Along with the new TB testing methods, they will eliminate X-rays and might have to raise tuition costs or might increase additional fees for health fees for international students to help cover the money needed for testing.
Surrounding states, such as Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, have not lost their funding, although Mississippi and Louisiana have received only 75 percent of their TB funding thus far.
The Louisiana Health Department said they should receive the other 25 percent after Congress votes on it, which is known as a Continuing Resolution. Currently Louisiana has not gotten approval for the fourth quarter of funding in the fiscal year, but the health department said it expects to receive the funding after Congress votes.
Both the state of Louisiana and the state of Mississippi have had their TB funding reduced. The Louisiana Health Department said that this is a normal occurrence because the CDC uses a formula to determine how much money a state receives for TB programs.
Medical personnel are also required to obtain screening and prevention of TB prior to employment and each year thereafter, as are all jail and detention center employees, shelter facility employees, paid and volunteer ambulance workers, and public school employees.
According to the Arkansas Health Department website, hospital workers and physicians who come in contact with hospital patients must receive annual tuberculosis tests, which will also include students interning and training in medical fields.
