The Re- Emergence of Tuberculosis-A Warning To The Practicing dentist

Abstract

Recently, there has been an increase in the incidence of worldwide. TB is now the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent worldwide. In the developing countries, the problem of poverty, overcrowding, homelessness, malnutrition and AIDS pandemic further complicates the picture. This resurgence has increased the likelihood of a dentist coming in contact with infectious TB thereby posing a risk of contacting the disease or passing it to other health care workers and patients. This paper reviews the epidemiology, microbiology and mode of transmission of TB with an emphasis on the oral health care setting, the problem of multidrug resistant TB and factors in diagnostic and treatment failure with their implication for dental care in Nigeria. The role of the dentist in diagnosis and case detection and the risks posed to the dental environment were noted. Practical guidelines for cross-infection control
measures in the provision of oral health care in Nigeria as a developing country were highlighted.


(J. of the Nigerian Association of Infection Control, 2000, 3(1): 3-9)