Tuberculosis Surveillance
If you work in occupations like health care, exposure to many diseases can be a concern. This can include tuberculosis (TB). It’s important to know when an employee has been exposed or may have TB. Tuberculosis surveillance can safely monitor and treat your employees.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a very serious infectious disease that affects your lungs. It’s caused by a bacterium that is highly contagious in its active stage, spreading to other people through tiny droplets released in the air through a sneeze or cough. Tuberculosis is especially concerning because it can be deadly if left untreated.
There are two Stages of TB infections:
- Latent TB: The infection is present in your body, but bacteria is inactive and causes no symptoms. Latent TB is not contagious, but it can turn into an active TB infection weeks or years after your initial infection.
- Active TB: This is where TB makes you sick and is considered a communicable disease. It’s highly contagious in the active stage and requires both treatment and isolation.
If you have a workforce in healthcare, childcare, nursing homes, or employees that travel to countries where TB is common, you need to constantly check your employees for TB in order to prevent an outbreak.
There are two kinds of tests to detect TB: a skin test and a blood test. These tests only reveal if you have been infected with TB and do not detect what stage your infection is in. Consequently, after a positive TB test, additional tests will be needed (e.g. Chest X-rays) to rule out the active stage. Occupational Health Consultants can monitor your employees for TB to satisfy OSHA regulations and can address those employees who were exposed to tuberculosis in the workplace.
If you would like to learn more about tuberculosis surveillance in the workplace, please call Occupational Health Consultants at 301-738-6420.