BCG is the vaccine against TB or tuberculosis. A Mantoux skin test is needed prior to BCG vaccination to check it’s safe to have the vaccine.
In addition, many health care workers and many people planning to study or work abroad, particularly in the USA need a Mantoux test to show they do not have TB. The test involves a small injection in the arm, with a review 48 to 72 hours later to ‘read’ the result.
Mantoux testing or the alternative, TB gold or quantiferon testing, can be used to test whether someone has caught TB.