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 partic

SUBMITTER: Chihota VN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8932619 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature