Incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis among employees in 14 institutions for the mentally ill

Conclusions

• 1. The danger of development of occupationally-acquired tuberculosis by employees on the general wards of mental institutions is apparently no greater than that by those similarly employed in other hospitals, or in occupations with no known tuberculosis hazard.

• 2. The tuberculosis incidence rate among employees on the tuberculosis wards is higher than among employes on the other wards of these institutions.

• 3. The frequency of development of clinically-significant tuberculosis by employees on the tuberculosis wards in mental institutions is probably about the same as that among employes of hospitals for mentally-well tuberculous patients.

• 4. The results of this study indicate that the phases of the tuberculosis control program in mental institutions which need emphasis are as follows: a. To decrease the relative number of employees exposed to tuberculous patients, the concentration of these patients in a few tuberculosis centers, should be accelerated. b. Employees on tuberculosis wards should be kept under close medical observation with frequent, periodic chest x-ray examinations. c. Training in infectious disease techniques should be given to all nurses, attendants, and other employees working on tuberculosis wards.