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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Ki Moon Bang, David Weissman, and Gregory Wagner. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Rd, Moragntown, WV 26505, (304) 285-6114, kmb2@cdc.gov
Tuberculosis (TB) has long been recognized as an occupational disease of health care workers. Over the past several years, the TB incidence rate in US health care workers (HCW) has decreased from 5.4 per 100,000 HCW in 1994 to 3.7 in 2000. This decrease has been due both to a decreased incidence of TB in the general population and the use of modern infection control measures in health care settings. However, occupationally-related outbreaks of TB continue to be a concern, particularly for HCW in geographic regions having higher incidence rates of TB and multi-drug resistant TB. In response to the chaniging epidemiologic features of TB in US HCW, we have reviewed relevant papers published in the scientific literature over the last decade, recent documentation published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and TB statistics. This paper summarizes the most recent data for the incidence rate of TB infection and active TB in HCW. Ongoing improvements in surveillance programs and prevention effectiveness research on TB are needed to guide future interventions to protect HCW.
Learning Objectives: The participant in this session will be able to
Keywords: Tuberculosis, Health Care Workers
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.