Indoor Environmental Control of Tuberculosis and Other Airborne Infections

Details

• Personal Author:
  Nardell EA
• Description:
  Tuberculosis (TB) remains the airborne infection of global importance, although many environmental interventions to control TB apply to influenza and other infections with airborne potential. This review focuses on the global problem and the current state of available environmental interventions. TB transmission is facilitated in overcrowded, poorly ventilated congregate settings, such as hospitals, clinics, prisons, jails, and refugee camps. The best means of TB transmission control is source control - to identify unsuspected infectious cases and to promptly begin effective therapy. However, even with active case finding and rapid diagnostics, not every unsuspected case will be identified, and environmental control measures remain the next intervention of choice. Natural ventilation is the main means of air disinfection and has the advantage of wide availability, low cost, and high efficacy - under optimal conditions. It is usually not applicable all year in colder climates and may not be effective when windows are closed on cold nights in warm climates, for security, and for pest control. In warm climates, windows may be closed when air conditioning is installed for thermal comfort. Although mechanical ventilation, if properly installed and maintained, can provide adequate air disinfection, it is expensive to install, maintain, and operate. The most cost-effective way to achieve high levels of air disinfection is upper room germicidal irradiation. The safe and effective application of this poorly defined intervention is now well understood, and recently published evidence-based application guidelines will make implementation easier. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Communicable Diseases Disinfectants Environmental Monitoring Occupational Health Safety Tuberculosis Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Airborne Infection Air Contaminants Air Monitoring Air Purifiers Author Keywords: Tuberculosis Contagious Diseases Disease Control Disease Prevention Environmental Control Germicides Infection Control Infectious Diseases TB Ultraviolet Air Disinfection Ultraviolet Radiation Ventilation Equipment Ventilation Systems

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• ISSN:
  0905-6947
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  79-87
• Volume:
  26
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051958
• Citation:
  Indoor Air 2016 Feb; 26(1):79-87
• Contact Point Address:
  E. A. Nardell, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham & Women's Hospital, 641 Huntington Avenue 3A-03, Boston, MA, USA
• Email:
  endardell@gmail.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20060801
• Source Full Name:
  Indoor Air
• End Date:
  20170731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5c101d5a5a7036d140b430d274392f56479dddb76bd682f7b779f7b885da5b57f6d445764ed88697ed3fca6b508e03e89661f2dc129080de9bb3bca6f4ad90c2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/211606/cdc_211606_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 249.34 KB ]