Check, check, and check again

A well known author came in at the end of our tuberculosis clinic with an x ray which suggested tuberculosis. He was well but his contact was a man with AIDS and tuberculosis on the ward. He had no symptoms and the physical examination was normal so, as is customary, I asked him to provide some sputum, which he managed with great perseverance, and blood and arranged to see him a few days later.

He had a partner and child, and I called them to the contact clinic for Heaf tests and chest x ray examinations, which turned out to be negative. His blood tests were normal and the sputum was negative on direct examination, but I was so sure that his chest x ray …