Status quo of exposure to latent tuberculosis infection and progress of prevention among healthcare workers in China / 中华临床感染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The high incidence rate, drug resistance rate and mortality rate of TB infection cause serious social and economic burden in developing countries. Due to high occupational exposure, medical institutions and healthcare workers take the potential risk of TB infection, which have negative impact on the public health and occupational health. As one of the countries with high burden of TB in the world, the occupational exposure of healthcare workers in China is serious, and the infection rate is far higher than that of developed countries. This article reviews the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection among health care workers and the status quo of occupational protection in medical institutions in China.