Incidence of tuberculosis among nurses and healthcare assistants in France.
Occup Med (Lond)
; 67(1): 58-60, 2017 Jan.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27694378
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Health care workers (HCWs) are considered to be at higher risk of tuberculosis (TB) than the general population. However, a decreasing incidence in the general population as well as improvement in preventive measures in hospitals has reduced the risk for HCWs.AIMS:
To quantify the actual incidence of TB in nurses and health care assistants in a low-incidence country.METHODS:
We performed a retrospective study of 80 hospitals throughout France, employing 233389 health care staff (physicians excluded). We calculated the number of pulmonary TB cases over 3 years (700166 person-years) and the total number of staff members in each job category (nurses, health care assistants, administrative staff) in each hospital, to calculate the incidence.RESULTS:
Overall, the incidence rate varied between 1.27 and 6/100000 for administrative staff and nurses, respectively (non-significant difference). The incidence varied according to the geographical area. However, the incidence in nurses and health care assistants was not different from the general population (7.5/100000).CONCLUSIONS:
In a low-incidence country, such as France, the implementation of measures to prevent occupational TB among HCWs has been effective. These preventive measures should be maintained but medical follow-up could be revised.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Tuberculosis
/
Incidence
/
Allied Health Personnel
/
Nurses
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Occup Med (Lond)
Journal subject:
MEDICINA OCUPACIONAL
Year:
2017
Document type:
Article