Latent Tuberculosis Infection Among Health Care Workers At The Communicable Disease Center In Qatar: Prevalence And Determinants

Abstract

Background: To estimate the prevalence of latent Pulmonary Tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers in Communicable Disease Center (CDC) in Qatar and explore the factors associated with latent tuberculosis infection LTBI. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was carried out from Sep 2018 up to March 2019, among CDC healthcare workers. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify the potential predictors of LTBI. Results: Out of the 415 staff, 27% [95% CI: 22.7%; 31.3%] were diagnosed with LTBI. This is considerably higher than the prevalence reported from high-income countries but lower than most low and middle-income countries including sub-Saharan Africa, India, and China. Being born in high tuberculosis (TB) burden country was found to be the main predictor for LTBI (OR:2.0 95% CI 1.2, 3.4). We also found that diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR: 2.24 95% CI 0.98, 5.1) was a predictor at univariate levels. Conclusion: Prevalence of LTBI is relatively higher among healthcare workers in CDC in Qatar when compared to countries with similar TB profile. Public health actions are warranted to identify and treat LTBI in healthcare workers in Qatar and to enhance compliance with the global WHO –end TB strategy