Did you know, that globally one person in four is infected with tuberculosis dring their lifetime? In Finland, currently 200 cases are diagnosed annually, but the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare encourages tuberculosis screenings for certain risk groups.
The Finnish Student Health Service offers tuberculosis health checks for higher education students in risk groups, including lung x-rays. As a latent infection can become an active illness years or even decades after contagion, screenings are very important.
Find out more about tuberculosis
You can read more about tuberculosis as an illness and its symptoms on this FSHS info page or in over 10 languages at the Tuberkuloosi.fi site.
Who belongs to a tuberculosis risk group?
You might be of a higher risk of carrying tuberculosis or infecting others with it if
- you were born or have lived in a region where tuberculosis is more common. These include African and Asian countries as well as Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
- you’ve been in close contact with a person with pulmonary tuberculosis (tuberculosis of the lungs).
- you’ve been involved in the care of patients with tuberculosis.
- you’ve had a confirmed tuberculosis infection yourself.
FSHS offers a questionnaire you can use to assess your risk of being exposed to tuberculosis. The questionnaire is aimed at students starting internships within certain fields in health care, social care, and education, but can be used by all students. If you belong to a risk group, you should contact the FSHS assessment of the need for treatment team.
Tuberculosis health check-ups
As a student belonging to a tuberculosis risk group, you are likely to receive an appointment for a tuberculosis checkup at the FSHS. The check-up consists usually of a doctor’s appointment and a chest x-ray. If you are diagnosed with tuberculosis, you will receive treatment for the disease free of charge.
Mandatory tuberculosis report for students in specifed fields
All students in the fields of
- healthcare and social welfare
- early childhood education and care and
- logopedics
must complete the FSHS communicable diseases questionnaire before embarking on an internship or a work contract in their own field. This is due to employers being obliged to require statements from employees and trainees confirming that they do not have respiratory tuberculosis.
If you are a student in the aforementioned fields, please read more on the FSHS website.
Find out if your risk of tuberculosis is increased with the help of this questionnaire.