Azavedo, McDermid

Hilderbrand, K

Ulens, H

Van Cutsem, G

English

MSF Field Research

FORCED AIR HEATING IN HEALTH FACILITIES AS A  STRATEGY TO REDUCE 
NOSOCOMIAL TB TRANSMISSION IN RESOURCE-LIMITED SETTINGS. 
 
Ulens, H.
1, Maes P
1, Azavedo, V.
2; McDermid, C.
3; Van Cutsem,G.
3;
 Goemare, E.
3; Hilderbrand, 
K.
3; Zachariah, R.
4 
 
1.  Water and Sanitation Unit, Medecins Sans Frontieres – Brussels 
2.  City Health, Khayelitsha, Cape Town 
3     Medecins Sans Frontieres – Khayelitsha, Cape Town South Africa     
4     Operational  research unit, Medecins sans Frontieres – Brussels.  
 
 
Issues: Health facilities are known to be "hot spots" for tuberculosis(TB) transmission and 
prevention of nosocomial TB transmission is now of major operational significance particularly in 
Sub-Saharan Africa given high annual TB case rates, and the growing incidence of MDR and XDR-
TB.  
Description: Environmental control measures such as UVI irradiation and filtration are technologies 
not well adapted to be used due to the difficult access to resources for installation and 
maintenance. In such settings, other methods such as natural ventilation have been proven more 
efficient in TB infection control. Nevertheless, they often require major investment, or changes to 
the existing infrastructure which is often too expensive and time consuming.  
Lessons learned: Forced air heating is a known strategy already used in some settings to induce 
convectional air currents or directional air-flow. This strategy could be adapted for preventing 
nosocomial TB transmission by inducing directional "air-flow currents" or enhancing insufficient 
natural ventilation within pre-existing health facilities without making major infrastructural 
modifications.   
Recommendations: There is an urgent need to assess the feasibility of this technique in existing 
health facilities. The strategy would be assessed in primary health facilities in Khayelitsha South 
Africa and reported at the conference. 
 
Key words: TB, nosocomial transmission, MDR, XDR 
 
 
 

FORCED AIR HEATING IN HEALTH FACILITIES AS A STRATEGY TO REDUCE NOSOCOMIAL TB TRANSMISSION IN RESOURCE-LIMITED SETTINGS.

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