Abstract

MUNOZ SANCHEZ, Alba Idaly; PICO SUAREZ, Cindy Lucia  and  MUNOZ CASTANO, Yeimy Lorena. Tuberculosis control in hospital workers. Salud de los Trabajadores [online]. 2015, vol.23, n.2, pp.137-143. ISSN 1315-0138.

Tuberculosis is an airborne biological risk to health care workers, patients and the general staff of health facilities, and its prevention requires combining different strategies. The objective was to perform a literature review of tuberculosis control methods by searching Complete Academic Research, Science Direct, Scielo and MEDLINE databases, along with international technical reports, for the period 2010 to 2015. We identified three types of control measures: 1) administrative, related to the timely identification of respiratory symptoms, case detection and prompt initiation of anti-tuberculosis treatment, in order to reduce the risk of transmission and infection; 2) environmental, which emphasize the importance of using natural ventilation, given its good cost-effectiveness, and other methods such as HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters and germicidal ultra-violet light; and 3) respiratory protection, in particular the use of high efficiency N-95 respirators. The implementation of tuberculosis control measures in healthcare settings is an effective strategy for preventing the transmission of this disease to health care workers, patients and the general public when combined and periodically evaluated. Continued literature should strengthen the use of such measures. It is essential to create occupational health surveillance systems in healthcare insitutitons to track tuberculosis in workers.

Keywords : tuberculosis; workers; infection control.

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