Who is at Risk for LBTI?

Some people are more at risk for contracting LBTI. These “at risk” groups of people include:

Health care workers: Health care workers are often in close contact to patients with active TB.
Homeless populations: Homeless people are more likely to suffer from malnutrition, sleep in close living quarters such as shelters or homeless camps, and suffer from substance abuse.
Communal living: Communal living includes persons who live in a space where large numbers of people share a common space. These communal living spaces include prisons, nursing homes, and homeless shelters. There is a greater risk here because of the close proximity people have to one another.
Poverty: Those living in poverty often have crowded living environments, lack of healthy foods, poorly ventilated housing. Crowded living environments puts people closer to one another, which increases the chances of catching TB. Lack of health foods contributes to poor health and a weakened immune system, which prevents the body from fighting off infections. Poor ventilation allows TB to remain suspended in the air longer, increasing the likelihood of contracting the disease.
Weakened immune system: A weakened immune system is common in people with HIV, IV drug users, those living in poverty, homelessness, and those with health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, low body weight, organ transplants, long-term corticosteroid treatments, and children under 5. A weakened immune system prevents the body from fighting infections as well as someone with a strong immune system.
Immigrating from a country that has a high incidence of TB: If the incidence of TB is higher than 20/100,000 people in a country, then that country is considered a high-risk country. This website will show the incidence in each country: World Health Organization – TB Incidence