Infection Control and Tuberculosis Management in Healthcare Settings

Effective infection control within health-care settings is fundamental to preventing the transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among patients, health-care workers and the wider community. The management of tuberculosis (TB) in these environments relies on a hierarchy of interventions. Administrative controls include early identification and triage of suspected TB cases, routine screening of health-care personnel and the prompt initiation of preventive therapy for those with latent infection. Environmental measures target the reduction of airborne spread through natural or mechanical ventilation, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation and spatial separation of infectious patients. Personal protective equipment, notably respirators, provides an additional barrier. Integration of digital platforms and capacity-building tools has enhanced workforce training and adherence to evolving guidelines. Screening strategies such as tuberculin skin testing and interferon-gamma release assays facilitate detection of latent TB infection, while timely diagnostic technologies, including molecular assays, expedite case confirmation. Management of active TB demands standardised treatment regimens, directly observed therapy and vigilance for drug-resistant strains. Cross-disciplinary collaboration, continuous surveillance and context-specific policy implementation are critical to addressing resource constraints and local epidemiology. Globally, strengthened infection control programmes have demonstrated reductions in nosocomial transmission, safeguarded health-care worker safety and contributed to national TB elimination targets. Despite progress, challenges remain in sustaining adherence, overcoming infrastructural limitations and scaling innovations in low-resource settings.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Infection Control and Tuberculosis Management in Healthcare Settings publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in infection control and tuberculosis management in healthcare settings across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Nosocomial transmission: spread of infection within a health-care facility.

Interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA): a blood test measuring immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens.

Multimodal strategy: a combined approach using administrative, environmental and personal protective measures to prevent infection.

Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI): a state where Mycobacterium tuberculosis persists in the body without causing active disease.

References

1. Capacity Building, Knowledge Enhancement, and Consultative Processes for Development of a Digital Tool (Ni-kshay SETU) to Support the Management of Patients with Tuberculosis: Exploratory Qualitative Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research (2023).
2. Cost-effectiveness of tuberculosis infection prevention and control interventions in South African clinics: a model-based economic evaluation informed by complexity science methods. BMJ Global Health (2023).
3. Tuberculosis infection prevention and control in rural Papua New Guinea: an evaluation using the infection prevention and control assessment framework. Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control (2023).