A Tuberculosis Outbreak Among Medical Waste Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boudreau, Yvonne A. ; Mortimer, Vincent D. ; Weber, Angela M.
• Description:
  Occupational exposures to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and bloodborne pathogens were evaluated during the processing of medical waste at a commercial treatment site. The facility utilized a method consisting of shredding waste followed by disinfection with dielectric heat. A previous epidemiologic investigation revealed three employees with active tuberculosis, the etiologic agent in each case having a different drug susceptibility pattern. This finding eliminated the possibility of person-toperson transmission between employees. Further evaluation confirmed that one employee was infected with a strain of M. tuberculosis identical to an isolate recovered from a patient treated at a clinic that sent waste to the treatment facility. Factors contributing to exposures included: the aerosolization of products contained in the waste, deficiencies in the facility design, absence of safety policies, inadequate design and operation of processing equipment. Furthermore, misunderstandings among employees regarding equipment operating procedures, use of personal protective equipment, and routes of disease transmission may have also been involved in employees exposures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Epidemiology Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Infection Control Infectious Diseases Personal Protection Personal Protective Equipment Waste Disposal Waste Treatment
• ISSN:
  1091-3505
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Georgia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  70-88
• Volume:
  5
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20020852
• Citation:
  J Am Biol Safety Assoc 2000 Jun; 5(2):70-88
• Contact Point Address:
  Angela M. Weber, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of the American Biological Safety Association
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e196cb7f15e179c4c19cff6912316f0fac46efb5996334b757fb6fbcf7daea4642f9df30ef7b0cb29a0a768a74b785748bcd1d90b02f83f5b33cea3c2c8d91c7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198511/cdc_198511_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 415.65 KB ]