The Alaska school board has unanimously voted against a proposal to repeal a tuberculosis screening requirement for childcare providers. The tuberculin clearance regulation requires people age 16 or older who come in contact with children in child care facilities to pass the same screening test as schoolteachers. The regulation is intended to provide children in childcare with the same level of protection as public schools. Dr. Beth Funk, in the epidemiology section of the Public Health Department, supports the position of the Department of Health and Social Services to repeal the TB screening requirements for low-risk populations. She instead favors focusing on testing in higher-risk areas and monitoring the treatment of infected people.

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