Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun 1;16(6):e0252307.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252307. eCollection 2021.

Prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection among health workers in Afghanistan: A cross-sectional study

Ghulam Qader Qader  1 , Mohammad Khaled Seddiq  2 , Khakerah Mohammad Rashidi  1 , Lutfullah Manzoor  2 , Azizullah Hamim  1 , Mir Habibullah Akhgar  2 , Laiqullrahman Rahman  2 , Sean Dryer  3 , Mariah Boyd-Boffa  4 , Aleefia Somji  3 , Muluken Melese  3 , Pedro Guillermo Suarez  3
Affiliations

Prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection among health workers in Afghanistan: A cross-sectional study

Ghulam Qader Qader et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: About 26% of the world's population may have latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Health care workers are a high-risk category because of their professional exposure.

Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed the LTBI burden among health care workers in Afghanistan, a high-TB-burden country. We selected health facilities using a systematic sampling technique and invited all workers at the targeted health facilities to participate. Participants were interviewed about sociodemographic and exposure variables and received tuberculin skin tests for LTBI.

Results: Of the 4,648 health care workers invited to participate, 3,686 had tuberculin skin tests. The prevalence of LTBI was found to be 47.2% (1,738 workers). Multivariate analysis showed that a body mass index of ≥ 30 and marriage were associated with an increased risk of LTBI. Underweight (body mass index of ≤ 18 and below) and normal body mass index had no association with increased risk of LTBI.

Conclusion: LTBI is high among health care workers in Afghanistan. We recommend instituting infection control measures in health facilities and screening workers for timely TB diagnosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow chart showing health care workers who participated in the LTBI study in Afghanistan.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization (WHO). Global tuberculosis report 2020. Geneva: WHO; 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/tuberculosis#tab=tab. Accessed 24 February 2021.
    1. WHO. Global tuberculosis report 2017. Geneva: WHO; 2017. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259366/9789241565516-en.... Accessed 13 May 2019.
    1. WHO. Latent tuberculosis infection: updated and consolidated guidelines for programmatic management. Geneva: WHO; 2018. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531235/. Accessed 13 May 2019. - PubMed
    1. Kasprowicz VO, Churchyard G, Lawn SD, Squire SB, Lalvani A. Diagnosing latent tuberculosis in high-risk individuals: rising to the challenge in high-burden areas. J Infect Dis. 2011;204(Suppl 4):S1168–78. 10.1093/infdis/jir449 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Agaya J, Nnadi CD, Odhiambo J, Obonyo C, Obiero V, Lipke V, et al.. Tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers in Kisumu, Kenya. Trop Med Int Health. 2015;20(12):1797–804. 10.1111/tmi.12601 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types