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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Does Positive Tuberculosis IgM Antibody Mean?

I am 72 years old male. About 3 years back I was treated for tuberculosis. Recently I was coughing a lot and tuberculosis elisa test was done and the report shows:

Tuberculosis IgG Antibody: 280.12 U/ml i.e. Negative

Tuberculosis IgA Antibody: 248.32 U/ml i.e. Negative

Tuberculosis IgM Antibody: 2.28 S/Co i.e. Positive

Though Azithral 500 (1 tablet per day for 4 days) took care of my cough but I am worried about IgM being positive.

What does it mean: Do I have tuberculosis or not? And if I have it what is the treatment?

Tue, 1 Mar 2016
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Dear Sir, Hi & Welcome to HCM.
I can understand your concern for the given lab tests.
The IgM Antibody level is suggestive of of infection but it may not be due to Tuberculosis in your case. This may be due to common respiratory tract infection for which you were prescribed the antibiotic Azithral and you seem to have recovered from it.
However, if you still suspect it to be due to tuberculosis then you are advised to undergo certain lab tests to confirm the TB infection like:
1) Sputum for Acid Fast Bacilli staining (at least for 3 days)
2) Chest (X-Ray)
3) ESR examination.
If these lab tests suggest tuberculous infection in that case you will have to take a course of anti TB medication for at least 6-9 months duration.
Hope I could answer your query.
A feedback is appreciated.
With best wishes.
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What Does Positive Tuberculosis IgM Antibody Mean?

Dear Sir, Hi & Welcome to HCM. I can understand your concern for the given lab tests. The IgM Antibody level is suggestive of of infection but it may not be due to Tuberculosis in your case. This may be due to common respiratory tract infection for which you were prescribed the antibiotic Azithral and you seem to have recovered from it. However, if you still suspect it to be due to tuberculosis then you are advised to undergo certain lab tests to confirm the TB infection like: 1) Sputum for Acid Fast Bacilli staining (at least for 3 days) 2) Chest (X-Ray) 3) ESR examination. If these lab tests suggest tuberculous infection in that case you will have to take a course of anti TB medication for at least 6-9 months duration. Hope I could answer your query. A feedback is appreciated. With best wishes.