This guide is for health care workers required to wear respirators for protection against tuberculosis (TB). It may also be used by employers to fulfill some of the federally required training aspects of a respirator program.

It is not intended for the education of respirator program administrators, who need training and additional information on setting up and running an adequate respirator program.

This guide will help you protect yourself against TB through the proper use of respirators.

A: Tuberculosis is a potentially severe contagious disease that primarily affects the lungs, but can also damage many parts of the body. It is usually transmitted by droplets in the air we breathe. Tuberculosis bacteria may be spread by patients with active disease whenever they cough, speak, or sneeze.

A: If you inhale tuberculosis bacteria you may become infected with the bacteria, but not get sick. This infection can be detected by a positive tuberculosis skin test. The infection may remain dormant for an indefinite length of time, often not causing disease.

However, infection may lead to active disease. Active disease can be contagious; symptoms may include cough, fever, chills, and weight loss.

A: It is recommended that some individuals with TB infection be treated with medicine(s) to prevent active TB disease. Although the treatments usually are very effective and safe, there may be side effects in some patients. The goal is to prevent both TB infection and active disease.

A: For most of this century TB decreased rapidly in the United States, but from 1985 to 1992 the number of cases of TB increased. Outbreaks of tuberculosis have occurred in hospitals, and some health care workers acquired the disease, a few of whom have died. Some TB bacteria have become resistant to the usual antibiotics (so-called "Multidrug-Resistant" or MDR-TB). Better preventive actions should reduce the spread of TB in hospitals and other health care settings.

A: The first step in preventing the spread of TB is to quickly identify, isolate and properly treat contagious patients. Nearly all TB patients under proper treatment will become "non-contagious," that is, he or she will not be able to transmit the disease to others. Other steps to reduce the spread of the disease include ventilation to remove the bacteria from the air you breathe, and ultraviolet lights that kill the bacteria. For further information, see:

CDC Publication MMWR Oct. 28, 1994/Vol. 43/No. RR-13. Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Health Care Facilities.

A: A respirator is a protective facepiece, hood or helmet that is designed to protect the wearer against a variety of harmful airborne agents. Only certain types of respirators will protect you from TB, as explained later.

A: Wearing a respirator reduces your chances of becoming infected with TB. Your hospital or organization's infection control committee determines under what circumstances respirators must be worn and which employees are required to wear them. In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) currently requires the use of respirators and is enforcing their use under the general duty clause while developing specific standards for preventing TB in health care workers.

A: No. Recent research has shown that many surgical masks do not do a good job of removing all TB bacteria. Some surgical masks fit so poorly that they provide very little protection from any airborne hazard.

Only NIOSH-certified respirators should be worn for TB protection. A surgical mask is not a respirator.

A: You should carefully read the next two sections for information about different types of respirators and the importance of respirator use programs.

Advance to "II. Respirator Information"

Go back to "Table of Contents"

Go back to Protect Yourself Against Tuberculosis home page

Go back to the NIOSH home page or to the CDC home page.