[Acceptance of tuberculosis as an occupational disease]

The acknowledgment of tuberculosis as an infection due to employment (i.e. as an occupational disease) in medical service applies only to few infected persons. Most of them must prove how they contracted the disease. Since this is largely impossible, many claims for damage, due to tuberculosis are not entertained. The negative decisions by the Occupational Co-Operative Society of Medical Service (BGW) against its own members are based on: 1. a doubtful judgment by the Federal Social Court of Justice (document no. 7 RU 34/72, 28.9.1972) and 2. untenable statements by occupational physicians on the epidemiology of infectious diseases. To substantiate such sentences, it is stated that tuberculosis is very rare and that therefore the probability of an infection during the job in medical service would not be higher than during leisure hours. However, this is an incorrect conclusion for several reasons. Notwithstanding that the time of working on the job is only 27% and leisure time 73%, nevertheless the risk of contracting tuberculosis during the job in medical service is 10 to 40 times higher than during leisure hours. Furthermore, still unpublished statistics by the Co-Operative Society show that the risk of an infection was higher for medical service jobs by a factor 22 compared to all other jobs during 1976 to 1994.