Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners.
<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 uninfec...
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0265036&type=printable |
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| author | Violet N Chihota Thobani Ntshiqa Pholo Maenetje Raoul Mansukhani Kavindhran Velen Thomas R Hawn Robert Wallis Alison D Grant Gavin J Churchyard Katherine Fielding |
| author_facet | Violet N Chihota Thobani Ntshiqa Pholo Maenetje Raoul Mansukhani Kavindhran Velen Thomas R Hawn Robert Wallis Alison D Grant Gavin J Churchyard Katherine Fielding |
| author_sort | Violet N Chihota |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <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) 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.<h4>Results</h4>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.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Despite high cumulative exposure, a small proportion of miners appear to be resistant to TB infection and are without distinguishing epidemiological characteristics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ad63f6d7097b413ab091d62d12df145b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-ad63f6d7097b413ab091d62d12df145b2025-08-20T02:22:21ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01173e026503610.1371/journal.pone.0265036Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners.Violet N ChihotaThobani NtshiqaPholo MaenetjeRaoul MansukhaniKavindhran VelenThomas R HawnRobert WallisAlison D GrantGavin J ChurchyardKatherine Fielding<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) 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.<h4>Results</h4>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.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Despite high cumulative exposure, a small proportion of miners appear to be resistant to TB infection and are without distinguishing epidemiological characteristics.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0265036&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Violet N Chihota Thobani Ntshiqa Pholo Maenetje Raoul Mansukhani Kavindhran Velen Thomas R Hawn Robert Wallis Alison D Grant Gavin J Churchyard Katherine Fielding Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners. PLoS ONE |
| title | Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners. |
| title_full | Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners. |
| title_fullStr | Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners. |
| title_short | Resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly TB exposed South African gold miners. |
| title_sort | resistance to mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among highly tb exposed south african gold miners |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0265036&type=printable |
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