Risk assessment of occupational tuberculosis and laboratory practice among laboratory health workers in two selected states in Nigeria

Background: Occupational tuberculosis is a major challenge that has been given insufficient attention especially in countries with high burden of tuberculosis. Laboratory health workers are constantly exposed to this infectious agent in the process of analysing sputum and other fluids for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The aim of the study was to assess the risk of contracting tuberculosis at work and to investigate the laboratory practice among the laboratory health workers. Method: A cross-sectional study conducted among the laboratory health workers involved primarily in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in Ekiti and Kwara states, Nigeria. All consenting laboratory staff dedicated to diagnosing TB in both states were recruited. A semi-structured questionnaire based on tuberculosis laboratory procedure risk assessment was self-administered. The risk for tuberculosis was determined by these set of questions and categorised into low, middle and high risk. Results: Fifty-eight (58) of the 64 laboratory health workers in both states participated in the study (response rate of 90%). There was a slight female preponderance with a male to female ratio of 1 to 1.4. Their average age was 38.8±7.6 years (ranging from 27 to 58 years). The majority of the respondents (82.7%) had worked in the TB laboratory for less than 10 years. Occupational risk was low 55(94.8%) and moderate 3(5.2%) without any having high risk. Conclusion: None of the respondents had a high risk of occupational TB however, adhering strictly to the standard operating procedure and infection control policy will further minimise the risk.