The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidance for healthcare providers. This is because of an expected shortage of a product called Aplisol. Aplisol is one of the antigens used to perform tuberculin skin tests, which check for tuberculosis (TB) infection.
The CDC's guidance offers general approaches to help clinics and hospitals continue offering TB skin tests during the shortage. The announcement does not describe a specific study with patients or report new research results. Instead, it is a public health notice about a supply chain problem.
There are no new safety concerns or medical findings reported with this announcement. The main reason for caution is that this is administrative guidance, not evidence from a clinical trial. Readers should know that health officials are planning for a potential shortage to keep TB testing available.