An engineering approach to the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other airborne pathogens: a UK hospital based pilot study

The world-wide occurrence of tuberculosis (TB) is very high, and in many pa rts of the world prevalence has reached epidemic proportions. While the WHO 's global 'directly observed therapy short-course' (DOTS) programme has yie lded some notable successes, it has reached only 12% of the world's TB case s (1996 data). This suggests that the use of drug therapy alone is not enou gh to solve the global TB problem and that prevention using public health e ngineering techniques may provide a complementary solution. There are a num ber of engineering control strategies, such as the use of ultraviolet germi cidal irradiation (UVGI) and advanced ventilation techniques, which can be used to combat the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other airborne pathogens. This paper describes a pilot study currently being undertaken at the Leeds General Infirmary in the UK, which is investigating the use of U VGI to disinfect air in ward spaces.