Tuberculosis among Healthcare Workers in Southeastern China: A Retrospective Study of 7-Year Surveillance Data

Abstract

The baseline prevalence and characteristics of tuberculosis (TB) among general healthcare workers (HCWs) in southeastern China remains unknown. We conducted a retrospective study based on the TB surveillance data in Zhejiang Province from 2005 to 2011, which were extracted from the national Tuberculosis Information Management System (TIMS). We calculated and compared annual notification rates of different occupational groups and analyzed the epidemiological and clinical characteristics. The annual TB notification rates among general HCWs declined steadily from 2005 to 2011. On average, HCWs showed annual TB notification rates lower than the general population but higher than teachers. Recorded HCW TB patients averaged 35.5 years of age, with females outnumbering males (58.0% > 42.0%). The proportion of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) was higher among male than in the female patients (88.5% > 83.4%, P = 0.031). Our study suggested that general HCWs run a higher occupational risk than teachers although the two groups are socioeconomically comparable and that the priority should be given to the young female HCWs for TB prevention in healthcare institutions.

Risk of Tuberculosis Infection and Disease for Health Care Workers: An Updated Meta-Analysis

“…HCWs were found to have an approximately 3 times greater risk of active TB compared with the general population, although there was substantial variability between studies. The findings illustrate how TB estimates may vary considerably within and between countries: for example, 2 studies in China and Taiwan showed IRs of active TB to be 78.3% and 61.1%, respectively [ 17 , 30 ]. In addition, while looking at the prevalence of LTBI, 2 studies in Brazil showed very different prevalence estimates of 18.4% and 59.8% [ 21 , 22 ].…”

Implementation of tuberculosis infection control measures in designated hospitals in Zhejiang Province, China: are we doing enough to prevent nosocomial tuberculosis infections?

“…In resource-limited countries with a high prevalence of TB, healthcare facilities cannot effectively implement separation measures due to limited space and budget constraints. 9 However, in high-income countries with a low TB burden, where the infection control measures are more strict, infection control measures might be neglected by hospitals with low admission rates of patients with TB, owing to limited disease awareness. 25 As a result, recommended measures are not fully implemented because of scarce resources or less attention to the issue.…”

“…8 A recent retrospective study of 7-year TB surveillance data (2005–2011) among HCWs in Zhejiang Province reported annual TB register rates of 45.2–58.4/100 000 persons, which were higher than that among teachers, who had an equivalent social economic status. 9 …”

Control de la infección por tuberculosis en instituciones de salud

“…Otra investigación describe que los trabajadores de la salud tienen dos veces más riesgo de contraer TB que la población general, dado que se estudiaron 199 trabajadores de la salud por medio de la prueba IGRA (Ensayo de Liberación de Interferón Gamma), encontrando que el 26% tenía TB latente (15). En este sentido, se concibe la importancia del establecimiento y fortalecimiento de las medidas de control de TB en todos los niveles de atención en salud, mediante la captación y diagnóstico precoz de sintomáticos respiratorios y el inicio oportuno del tratamiento en los casos confirmados (16).…”