To prevent tuberculosis, attention must be paid to reducing risk factors.
Behavioral risk factors
- Consumption of stimulants
- Tobacco (smoking)
- Drug use (intravenous, i.e., through the vein).
Disease-related risk factors
- Malnutrition
Environmental pollution – intoxications (poisonings)
- Quartz dust (dusts containing crystalline silica (SiO2), silicosis → silico-tuberculosis).
Other risk factors
- People with close contact with affected persons who can transmit the disease. This is the case with untreated tuberculosis or in the first weeks of tuberculostatic therapy.
Vaccination
- Vaccination against tuberculosis is now recommended only in countries with high prevalence of the disease (disease incidence).
Tuberculosis surveillance
Tuberculosis surveillance refers to the implementation of screening examinations in high-risk groups such as people infected with HIV or immigrants from countries where there is a high prevalence. This screening is also performed on employees who have contact with persons at risk for tuberculosis.
