Silicosis, progressive massive fibrosis and silico-tuberculosis among workers with occupational exposure to silica dusts in sandstone mines of Rajasthan state: An urgent need for initiating national silicosis control programme in India

Silicosis is a progressive, irreversible and incurable respiratory morbidity and often becomes a cause for pre-mature mortality among occupationally silica dust-exposed workers in India and similar countries. It has a dual problem of associated silico-tuberculosis as a co-morbidity. The present study was done to assess the respiratory morbidity caused by silicosis in sandstone mine of Rajasthan, India.