Unknown

Dataset Information

0

Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners.


ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite high exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a small proportion of South African goldminers resist TB infection. We determined, among long-service gold miners i) the proportion who were TB uninfected and ii) epidemiological factors associated with being uninfected.

Methods

We enrolled HIV-negative gold miners aged 33-60 years with ≥15 years' service and no history of TB or silicosis. Miners were defined as TB uninfected if i) QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) negative or ii) in a stricter definition, QFT-Plus-negative and zero-response on TST and as resisters if they were of Black/African ethnicity and negative on both tests. Logistic regression was used to identify epidemiological factors associated with being TB uninfected.

Results

Of 307 participants with a QFT-Plus result, median age was 48 years (interquartile range [IQR] 44-53), median time working underground was 24 years (IQR 18-28), 303 (99%) were male and 91 (30%) were QFT-Plus-negative. The odds of being TB uninfected was 52% lower for unskilled workers (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.27-0.85; p = 0.013). Among 281 participants of Black/African ethnicity, 71 (25%) were QFT-Plus negative. Miners with a BMI ≥30 were less likely to be TB uninfected (OR 0.38; 95% CI 0.18-0.80). Using the stricter definition, 44.3% (136/307) of all miners were classified as either TB uninfected (35; 26%) or infected, (101; 74%) and the associations remained similar. Among Black/African miners; 123 were classified as either TB uninfected (23; 19%) or infected (100; 81%) using the stricter definition. No epidemiological factors for being TB uninfected were identified.

Conclusions

Despite high cumulative exposure, a small proportion of miners appear to be resistant to TB infection and are without distinguishing epidemiological characteristics.

SUBMITTER: Chihota VN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8932619 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

altmetric image

Publications

Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners.

Chihota Violet N VN   Ntshiqa Thobani T   Maenetje Pholo P   Mansukhani Raoul R   Velen Kavindhran K   Hawn Thomas R TR   Wallis Robert R   Grant Alison D AD   Churchyard Gavin J GJ   Fielding Katherine K  

PloS one 20220318 3


<h4>Background</h4>Despite high exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a small proportion of South African goldminers resist TB infection. We determined, among long-service gold miners i) the proportion who were TB uninfected and ii) epidemiological factors associated with being uninfected.<h4>Methods</h4>We enrolled HIV-negative gold miners aged 33-60 years with ≥15 years' service and no history of TB or silicosis. Miners were defined as TB uninfected if i) QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus)  ...[more]

Similar Datasets

| S-EPMC2796737 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC9565035 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC6813010 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC6495009 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC6042385 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC3819362 | biostudies-other
| S-EPMC5441709 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC3993501 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC4021062 | biostudies-literature
| PRJNA789981 | ENA