Changes in the rate of bacillus tuberculosis infection in health workers in the first year of the COVID-19 epidemic in Kashan- Iran

Mojgan Sehat; Reza Razzaghi; Mark Ghamsary; Monireh Faghir Ganji; Mojtaba Sehat

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20560

Changes in the rate of bacillus tuberculosis infection in health workers in the first year of the COVID-19 epidemic in Kashan- Iran

Heliyon. 2023 Oct 5;9(10):e20560. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20560. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Mojgan Sehat¹, Reza Razzaghi¹, Mark Ghamsary², Monireh Faghir Ganji³, Mojtaba Sehat⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
² Loma Linda University (retired), School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, California, USA.
³ Student Research Committee, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Trauma Research Center, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: This cohort study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of latent tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A one-year cohort study was conducted in a referral hospital in Kashan, involving 176 medical, educational, and cleaning personnel. Initial evaluations and tuberculin skin tests were performed, followed by a one-year follow-up period. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 software.

Results: Among the participants, 26.1% (46 individuals) tested positive for latent tuberculosis infection. Age was a significant risk factor, with a 3.6% increase in latent tuberculosis infection risk with each advancing year. Men had 2.19 times (1.10-4.35) the chance of having a latent infection compared to women. Hospital staff were 3.7 times more at risk of tuberculosis infection than students. Among the hospital job categories, nursing assistants had the highest chance of tuberculosis infection, 6.77 times higher than medical students, followed by cleaning staff and nurses. The ICU, General, and Obstetrics and Gynecology departments had an infection chance of 2.46 (1.11-5.46) compared to other departments. No new positive cases were detected during the follow-up period.

Conclusion: This study contributes to the understanding of latent tuberculosis infection prevalence and its risk factors among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings highlight the importance of infection control measures and targeted interventions to protect healthcare workers from occupational tuberculosis exposure.

Keywords: Medical personnel; PPD test; TST; Tuberculin skin test; Tuberculosis.