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F Foorr eeww oor dr d
The use of respirators in the health care setting is a relatively new but im-
portant step forward in the efforts to prevent the transmission of
tuberculosis (TB). Air purifying respirators provide a barrier to prevent
health care workers from inhaling Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The level of
protection a respirator provides is determined by the efficiency of the fil-
ter material and how well the facepiece fits or seals to the health care
worker’s face. A number of studies have shown that surgical masks will
not provide adequate protection in filtering out the TB organism. Addition-
ally, surgical masks are not respirators and therefore, are not NIOSH
certified and do not satisfy OSHA requirements for respiratory protection.
The proper use of respirators represents a significant improvement in em-
ployee protection against TB. NIOSH realizes that the use of respirators
involves a number of new and perhaps confusing practices for the health
care community. This manual is designed to serve as a practical guide for
those individuals responsible for initiating and running a TB respiratory
protection program in health care facilities.
Other areas of the hospital may also require the use of respirators but the
program and respirators used may be different. If such a program exists in
your facility and has an experienced program administrator, it would be ef-
fective to administer the TB respirator program under the existing program
and use existing facilities for fit-testing, cleaning, maintenance, storage, etc.
This document is not designed to provide information on ventilation sys-
tems, negative pressure isolation rooms, and risk assessment methodologies,
which should be included in a total TB prevention program. The TB res-
pirator program described in this document does not supplant the
respirator protection program necessary for other regulated hazards (e.g.,
formaldehyde or ethylene oxide) that may be found in health care facili-
ties.
Sincerely yours,
Linda Rosenstock, M.D., M.P.H.
Director
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