India has the highest burden of tuberculosis (TB) in the world with an estimated incidence of 217 cases per 100000 population and mortality of 36 cases per 100000 population. The most common etiological agent is Mycobacterium tuberculosis but different species of the same genus namely M.avium, M.kansasii and M. ulcerans are also attributed to the illness. Droplet infection by aerosols in the air is the most common mode of transmission of TB among the masses.
Higher bacterial load and absence of initiation of treatment increases the secondary attack rate of tuberculosis. With the treatment coverage of 59%, there are very high rates of transmission of the infection among the population. Over 4.3 million health care workers (HCWs) are involved in providing health care facilities to the Indian population at various levels ranging from tertiary healthcare centres to primary health centres including the community services. Risk of acquiring TB infection is high among these HCWs worldwide but it is particularly high in countries with huge disease prevalence like India.