Tuberculosis In the Institutional Environment

Tuberculosis (TB) is rising at a rate of 28 percent annually in some parts of the United States, and more than 10 million Americans now carry latent TB, which can transmute into the potentially deadly, active TB. This Video On Demand discusses the rise of TB infections, how TB is detected, its symptoms and treatment. It explains the difference between latent, active and multi-drug resistant TB, who is most at risk for contracting TB and why health care workers must be alert to the risks posed by a casual cough, sneeze or even a simple conversation.

This video training stresses the importance of identifying individuals who may have active TB, isolating them from the general population, and ensuring drug therapy is completed. It also emphasizes the need for workplaces to have a medical surveillance program to regularly screen employees for TB exposure, commonly called an administrative control for TB. The course explains how isolation rooms are engineered to prevent contaminated air from escaping the room, the frequency of air exchange in isolation rooms, and methods for disinfecting the air. Requiring active TB patients to use surgical masks whenever they leave the isolation room, and to cover their noses and mouths when they cough, are other controls. Employees learn they must protect themselves by using a specially-rated and fit-tested respirator whenever they work with active TB patients.

By using the proper personal protective equipment, adhering to administrative control procedures, using engineering controls and keeping their resistance high through healthful habits and lifestyles, health care workers can minimize their risk of contracting this airborne disease. This video should be viewed by every health care worker or custodian providing care in an institutional setting to help harness the spread of TB.

   This course is in the Video On Demand format, to read about Video On Demand features click here.

Health care workers in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals; employees of homeless shelters, prisons, and other institutional facilities

• Introduction
• Resurgence of TB
• CDC Guidelines
• How TB's Transmitted
• Latent & Active TB
• Workplace Exposure
• Testing for TB
• Administrative Controls
• Engineering Controls
• PPE
• Review