Although the overall risk of tuberculosis has been decreasing in recent years, continued vigilance is needed within institutional settings such as hospitals and prisons and in the community at large. Government standards on workplace TB protection should be consistent with proven TB control measures and flexible enough so organizations can adapt them to the level of risk facing their workers. The available data indicate that the risk to heath care workers in areas where tuberculosis is uncommon or where basic infection control measures are in place approaches the level of risk of infection in their community of residence. The threat to health care, correctional, and other workers is from undiagnosed, unsuspected case of infectious tuberculosis.

The recommendations in this report agree with IOM's earlier report, Ending Neglect: The Elimination of Tuberculosis in the U.S., which laid out a strategy for maintaining long-term vigilance and moving toward the elimination of tuberculosis in the United States.