Senate Bill No. 197 Summary

• Department of Health and Senior Services shall develop an informational brochure on meningococcal disease that addresses risk factors, symptoms, transmission, immunization information, and referral to health care providers, with distribution required to all public institutions of higher education for students.

• Persons with tuberculosis must follow instructions from local public health authorities and obtain required treatment; those posing an immediate threat may be subject to directly observed therapy (DOT) or commitment through court proceedings with hearings held within five to fifteen days of filing.

• Violated commitment orders or reckless exposure to active tuberculosis constitutes a class B misdemeanor, or a class A misdemeanor if the victim contracts tuberculosis; persons may work with active tuberculosis only if adhering to treatment and deemed noninfectious by a physician.

• All health care facility employees and volunteers must receive tuberculin skin testing or interferon gamma release assay testing upon employment per CDC guidelines, with appropriate follow-up for positive results.

• All Missouri institutions of higher education must implement targeted tuberculosis testing programs for on-campus students and faculty upon enrollment, with non-compliant students prohibited from maintaining enrollment in subsequent semesters.