| Summary: | Purpose: Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is transmitted through coughing, sneezing, laughing and singing. Laboratory workers’ risk of infection is 3 to 9 times higher than the general public as they handle potentially infectious samples. Laboratory safety should therefore be prioritized and optimized to provide sufficient safety to laboratory workers. The aim of this study was to assess the safety of the laboratory workers in TB primary microscopy centres in Blantyre urban.
Material and Methods: TB primary microscopy centers in Blantyre urban were assessed in aspects of equipment availability, facility layout, and work practice, using a standardized WHO/AFRO ISO 15189 checklist for the developing countries which sets the minimum safety score at ≥80%. Each center was graded according to the score it earned upon assessment.
Results: The safety hoods were not functional in Ndirande, Lirangwe and Chileka microscopy centres. No safety hood was found in South Lunzu. In Ndirande and Limbe the exhaust ducts face the patients’ waiting area and door to the laboratory, putting them (patients and laboratory technicians) to a greater risk of infection when smear preparation begins. Bangwe, Chilomoni, Ndirande, Chileka, South Lunzu and Limbe microscopy centres had no sputum transportation boxes.
Conclusion: There is a great compromised safety in the TB microscopy centers in Blantyre urban. Only one (1) microscopy center out of nine (9) reached the minimum safety requirement representing an 89 percent (%) failure of TB primary microscopy centers to provide safety to laboratory workers. Laboratory conditions and safety procedures in TB primary smear microscopy centres in Blantyre urban are poor. Government and other stake holders should therefore be committed in addressing the safety challenges of TB laboratories in the country (in primary Tb microscopy centres and other referral centres which face the same challenges) to ensure safety to the laboratory workers. [Cukurova Med J 2014; 39(2.000): 262-270]
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