Open AccessTuberculosis as an occupational hazard in ward workers
Author(s) -
Muhammad Abdullah Khalid,
Muddassir Muhammad Shaikh,
Summiyah Nasir,
Shamshad Rasul,
Saulat Ullah Khan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
annals of king edward medical university
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2079-7192
pISSN - 2079-0694
DOI - 10.21649/akemu.v11i1.989
Subject(s) - medicine , tuberculosis , sputum , demographics , transmission (telecommunications) , population , environmental health , pediatrics , family medicine , surgery , demography , pathology , sociology , electrical engineering , engineering
The present study was designed to estimate the risk of tuberculosis in ward workers in a tertiary care hospital, Lahore. A total 53 ward workers who had been working in chest medicine and internal medicine wards for the last one year, were assessed. As regards demographics, 34 were male and 19 were female with mean age 34.3 years. Out of these workers, three (5.6%) were diagnosed as case of active tuberculosis and all these workers were male. Sputum AFB microscopy was positive in one case. Nosocomial transmission of tuberculosis is known to occur and this risk is much more common in ward workers than that of general population. So it is concluded that there is a significant increased (P<0.001) risk of tuberculosis in ward workers.