Research

Nosocomial TB and infection control

TB is a significant but neglected occupational problem among healthcare workers (HCWs) in poor countries. With the emergence of XDR-TB, there is growing concern about a real need to protect HCWs and HIV infected patients from TB. To inform policies and guidelines on TB infection control in developing countries, it is important to conduct research on dynamics of nosocomial transmission in high burden settings, and to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of simple and low-cost interventions that may work in resource limited settings. Our research in India has shown that TB is an important problem among HCWs, and the annual risk of TB infection is high, even among young medical and nursing trainees. Our work in India, for the first time, showed that interpretation of serial testing with novel T-cell based assays is complicated because of non-specific variations, conversions and reversions (Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2006; 174: 349-355).

Close Window