Tuberculosis Risk in Funeral Home Employees

Details

• Personal Author:
  Badawi M ; Comstock GW ; Escamilla-Cejudo JA ; Gershon RR ; Grimes M ; Karkashian C ; McDiarmid, Melissa A. ; Vlahov D
• Description:
  In order to estimate the risk of tuberculosis infection among employees in the funeral service industry, we conducted a risk-assessment study of a convenience sample of funeral home employees. Study participants completed a risk-assessment questionnaire and underwent tuberculin skin testing. Of 864 employees tested, 101 (11.7%) had a reactive tuberculin skin test. Reactivity to the tuberculin skin test was significantly associated with job category; funeral home employees with a present or past history of embalming deceased-human remains were twice as likely to be reactive as were non-embalming personnel (14.9% versus 7.2%, P < 0.01). Reactivity was also associated with age, gender, race, past history of close contact with a person diagnosed with tuberculosis, and work history. After controlling for age and other factors, tuberculin reactivity was found to be associated in embalming personnel with the number of years spent performing embalmings (> or = 20), and, in non-embalming personnel, with a history of close contact with infected individuals. Based on these results, it is recommended that funeral home employees who routinely embalm cadavers undergo annual tuberculin skin testing, receive initial training on tuberculosis prevention, and wear respiratory protection when preparing known tuberculosis cases. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Demography Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Race Factors Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Sex Characteristics Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Age-factors Demographic-characteristics Occupational-diseases Occupational-exposure Occupational-health Pulmonary-system-disorders Racial-factors Respiratory-protection Respiratory-protective-equipment Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-analysis Risk-factors Sampling Sex-factors Work-environment

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• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  497-503
• Volume:
  40
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024591
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 1998 May; 40(5):497-503
• Contact Point Address:
  Robyn R.M. Gershon, MHS, DrPH, The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St, Rm 8503, Baltimore, MD 21205
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Performing Organization:
  Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19970401
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20000929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bf068286fdeb005eb34aba8f49f67d653cd38cf4de3f9c20e6e56498f8e84120b23a7f291b7b0be6445823e828ac4e4f4de86c790f3e6da8d95cc63adeb288e8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196330/cdc_196330_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.56 MB ]