The medical community has urged the government to actively support healthcare workers who are exposed to the risk of latent tuberculosis infections. People with latent TB do not feel sick and do not show any symptoms but positively react to the TB test.

According to the latest issue of Scientific Reports, an international journal, 16 percent of the 1,655 workers (423 males and 1,232 females) at medical institutions had latent TB. The data was based on a survey by the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital’s researchers.

The TB tests were done on 777 nurses (47 percent), 158 physicians (10 percent), 210 technicians (13 percent), 331 maintenance and assistance providers (20 percent), 155 management employees (9 percent), and 24 pharmacists (2 percent). The researchers used the Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) to test latent TB.

By profession, doctors had the highest prevalence of latent TB with 24 percent (38 persons), followed by maintenance and assistance providers with 22 percent (73), technicians with 20 percent (41), management employees with 15 percent (24), nurses with 12 percent (94), and pharmacists with 4 percent (1).

However, only 65 percent of the respondents had the BCG vaccine against TB.

“As medical professionals including physicians have much contact with patients, they may have a high incidence of latent TB inevitably. However, the government has poor measures to support TB tests and treatments,” the Korean Medical Association said in a statement on Tuesday. “The government should provide prioritized support for workers at medical institutions.”

The government started to provide TB tests for medical workers last year under the project to screen latent TB in workers at collective facilities. However, only those working in hospitals can benefit from the state support, the KMA noted. “Workers at clinics, office, and management workers are excluded from the government’s support for TB tests,” the KMA said.

The doctors’ group urged the government to give prioritized support to workers at all medical institutions that have frequent contact with patients, among those who have to go through obligatory TB and latent TB tests.

The KMA also demanded an expansion of the state support for latent TB tests for medical professionals and the full coverage of the costs. Also, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should establish guidelines for the treatment of latent TB, the KMA added.