Abstract
BackgroundPeople concentrated in congregated systems such as prisons, are important but often neglected reservoirs for tuberculosis transmission, and threaten those in the outside community. The condition is more serious in Africa particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) due to its poor living conditions and ineffective health services.ObjectivesThis study was conducted to determine the prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis and associated risk factors among prisoners in Hadiya Zone prison.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out from May to June 2013 in Hadiya Zone prison. Prison inmates who had history of cough for at least a week were included in the study. Three morning sputum samples were collected from suspected inmates and examined through compound light microscopy. The data obtained was analyzed using statistical software like Epidata and STATA.ResultsA total of 164 prisoners were included in the survey using active screening strategy and the point prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in the prison was 349.2 per 100,000 populations; about three times higher than its prevalence in the general population. Even though lack of visit from family was the only variable identified as a risk factor for PTB (P = 0.029), almost all of the PTB positive cases were rural residents, farmers, male youngsters and those who shared cell with TB patients and chronically coughing persons as well as those who stayed in a cell that contains >100 inmates.ConclusionThere is high prevalence of TB in Hadiya Zone prison with possible active transmission of TB within the prison. The study also documented a number of factors which may facilitate exposures to TB though most of them are not significantly associated. Therefore, strong cooperation between prison authorities and the national tuberculosis control programmes is urgently required to develop locally appropriate interventions to reduce transmission.
Highlights
People concentrated in congregated systems such as prisons, are important but often neglected reservoirs for tuberculosis transmission, and threaten those in the outside community
The study documented a number of factors which may facilitate exposures to TB though most of them are not significantly associated
It is meant for the diagnosis and treatment of infectious and non-infectious diseases according to National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTCP) protocol [1]
Summary
People concentrated in congregated systems such as prisons, are important but often neglected reservoirs for tuberculosis transmission, and threaten those in the outside community. The condition is more serious in Africa in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) due to its poor living conditions and ineffective health services. Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health problem. It causes ill-health among millions of people each year and ranks as the second leading cause of death from infectious diseases worldwide, after HIV. WHO estimated that there were almost 8.7 million new cases in 2011 and 1.4 million TB deaths. Asia and Africa account for 60 and 24 % of cases globally, respectively [1]. The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries have the highest rates, with an average rate of about 300 per 100,000 populations [2]. Ethiopia ranks 7th among the 22 high tuberculosis burden countries. According to WHO estimates in 2012, the incidence rate of all forms of TB in
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