The most common x-rays - looking at teeth, chest and limbs – involve relatively small amounts of radiation and deliver a dose equivalent to just a few days’ exposure to natural background sources. They are safe, although it’s good practice to take as few x-rays as possible ( NHS doctors apparently order half as many x-rays as their American colleagues and a third of those requested in Japan ).


Chest x-rays for TB don’t include the pelvis, so the radiation dose that the developing baby would receive is much lower than that received from radiation that exists naturally in the environment (http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/safe...pg=sfty_hiw_10
).


Although chest x-rays are not the only test involved in screening for TB, I doubt a TB test certificate could be issued without them.


A sputum ( spit ) test would only be required if there were clinical signs and symptoms, such as a productive cough. Indeed, with no symptoms it would be hard to obtain. The requirements state " If the x-ray is inconclusive, you may be asked to give a sputum sample ... There may be an additional fee … and results can take up to 2 months to process ". This is not just bureaucracy ! Sputum samples need to be specially stained for the TB " bug ", then examined by microscopy. They also need to be " cultured ", which takes 4 – 8 weeks because the bugs grow slowly. If bugs are seen, there may be a further 4 weeks’ delay to test for the correct antibiotics.


There are more rapid ( but expensive ) tests on sputum and / or blood for TB, but at present the only way to get a test certificate is from the one approved test clinic in Makati City. The consent form for the TB testing does state that " the clinician’s decision is final ". But it’s at least worthwhile questioning their decision, armed with accurate information !