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 parts of the world prevalence has reached epidemic proportions. While the WHO's global 'directly observed therapy short-course' (DOTS) programme has yielded some notable successes, it has reached only 12% of the world's TB cases (1996 data). This suggests that the use of drug therapy alone is not enough to solve the global TB problem and that prevention using public health engineering techniques may provide a complementary solution. There are a number of engineering control strategies, such as the use of ultraviolet germicidal 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 UVGI to disinfect air in ward spaces.