TB screening prevents workplace infection

Employers with workers from countries with high tuberculosis prevalence should utilize pre-hire TB screening, according to a recently published report.

A study by the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine concluded that TB transmission largely occurs among workers from countries with high TB prevalence and close proximity with those workers can result in transmission to workers from countries with low prevalence.

“The growing proportion of immigrant workers in the American workforce may be creating new situations for the emergence of TB in the workplace,” the study said. Language barriers, lack of health care access and inadequate understanding of the importance of treatment exacerbate the problem.

The report urged employers to consider pre-employment screening for immigrant workers from high TB prevalence countries in Central and South America.