Workers in healthcare facilities must recognize that the transmission of M. tuberculosis is a risk. Risk variables include:
- The facility's patient population and the number of patients known to be infected with TB who are present in the facility
- The prevalence of TB in the community
- Contact with patients known to have TB in the performance of one's job
- Contact with specimens containing M. tuberculosis organisms where aerosols may be released
- Effectiveness of the facility's Tuberculosis Control Plan
CDC has identified three risk categories in healthcare settings:
- A low-risk health care setting is one in which healthcare workers will most likely not be exposed to persons with TB disease or to clinical specimens that might contain Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
- A medium-risk health care setting is one in which the healthcare workers will or might possibly be exposed to persons with TB disease or to clinical specimens that might contain M. tuberculosis.
- A potential ongoing transmission health care setting is temporarily applied to any setting if there is evidence of person-to-person transmission of M. tuberculosis in the past year.
