LATENT TUBERCULOSIS AMONG PRISON INMATES IN THE BRAZILIAN MID-WEST

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is the second main cause of death by infectious diseases worldwide and is a persistent world public health problem. The prevalence of active TB among individuals deprived of freedom (DF) is greater than in the general population average. Late diagnosis and delayed adequate treatment aggravates the TB problem within correctional facilities. In spite of being tightly closed institutions, prisoner movement within the different departments of the institution as well as outside the prison walls, such as visits to courthouses, have resulted in these facilities becoming significant TB reservoirs. The purpose of this work was to perform the tuberculin skin test (TST) among DF volunteers. 50.3% men and 38.1% women tested positive in this first test within the premises a correctional facility in Goiás. The one-year follow up revealed that 1.7% (n=9) of the volunteers developed active TB, 4 of which were in the same male prison ward. The high infection and disease incidence reinforce the urgent need for latent infection diagnosis, as well as recruitment of these individuals in general for testing.