Question: How to prevent Tuberculosis (TB) ?
Answer: Infection Control in Health Care Settings
Tuberculosis (TB) transmission has been documented in health care settings where health care workers and patients come in contact with people who have TB disease.
People who work or receive care in health care settings are at higher risk for becoming infected with TB; therefore, it is necessary to have a TB infection control plan as part of a general infection control program designed to ensure the following:
- prompt detection of infectious patients,
- airborne precautions, and
- treatment of people who have suspected or confirmed TB disease.
In order to be effective, the primary emphasis of a TB infection control program should be on achieving these three goals.
In all health care settings, particularly those in which people are at high risk for exposure to TB, policies and procedures for TB control should be developed, reviewed periodically, and evaluated for effectiveness to determine the actions necessary to minimize the risk for transmission of TB.
The TB infection control program should be based on a three-level hierarchy of control measures and include:
- Administrative measures
- Environmental controls
- Use of respiratory protective equipment
The first and most important level of the hierarchy, administrative measures, impacts the largest number of people. It is intended primarily to reduce the risk of uninfected people who are exposed to people who have TB disease.
The second level of the hierarchy is the use of environmental controls to reduce the amount of TB in the air. The first two control levels of the hierarchy also minimize the number of areas in the health care setting where exposure to TB may occur.
The third level of the hierarchy is the use of respiratory protective equipment in situations that pose a high risk of exposure to TB. Use of respiratory protection equipment can further reduce the risk for exposure of health care workers.
More: Information about Infection Control in Health Care Settings
TB Prevention
Preventing Exposure to TB Disease While Traveling Abroad
Travelers should avoid close contact or prolonged time with known TB patients in crowded, enclosed environments (for example, clinics, hospitals, prisons, or homeless shelters).
Travelers who will be working in clinics, hospitals, or other health care settings where TB patients are likely to be encountered should consult infection control or occupational health experts. They should ask about administrative and environmental procedures for preventing exposure to TB. Once those procedures are implemented, additional measures could include using personal respiratory protective devices.
Travelers who anticipate possible prolonged exposure to people with TB (for example, those who expect to come in contact routinely with clinic, hospital, prison, or homeless shelter populations) should have a tuberculin skin test (TST) or interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) test before leaving the United States. If the test reaction is negative, they should have a repeat test 8 to 10 weeks after returning to the United States. Additionally, annual testing may be recommended for those who anticipate repeated or prolonged exposure or an extended stay over a period of years. Because people with HIV infection are more likely to have an impaired response to both the TST and IGRA, travelers who are HIV positive should tell their physicians about their HIV infection status.
More: Tuberculosis Information for International Travelers
What to Do If You Have Been Exposed to TB
If you think you have been exposed to someone with TB disease, contact your health care provider or local health department to see if you should be tested for TB. Be sure to tell the doctor or nurse when you spent time with someone who has TB disease.
More: What to Do If You Have Been Exposed to TB
Preventing Latent TB Infection from Progressing to TB Disease
Many people who have latent TB infection never develop TB disease. But some people who have latent TB infection are more likely to develop TB disease than others. Those at high risk for developing TB disease include:
- People with HIV infection
- People who became infected with TB bacteria in the last 2 years
- Babies and young children
- People who inject illegal drugs
- People who are sick with other diseases that weaken the immune system
- Elderly people
- People who were not treated correctly for TB in the past
If you have latent TB infection and you are in one of these high-risk groups, you should take medicine to keep from developing TB disease. There are several treatment options for latent TB infection. You and your health care provider must decide which treatment is best for you. If you take your medicine as instructed, it can keep you from developing TB disease. Because there are less bacteria, treatment for latent TB infection is much easier than treatment for TB disease. A person with TB disease has a large amount of TB bacteria in the body. Several drugs are needed to treat TB disease.