University of California, San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, Box 0608, San Francisco, CA 941430608 USA. E-mail: mcwhite{at}itsa.ucsf.edu
It is well recognized that correctional facilities worldwide are settings in which tuberculosis (TB) prevalence, and transmission, are high. In this issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology, Hussain et al. describe the prevalence of latent TB infection (LTBI) in a random sample of prisoners from five prisons in the North West Frontier Province, Pakistan.1 In this cross-sectional design, the authors provide an interesting glimpse of the burden of infection in this population.
The authors found that 48% of the prisoners were tuberculin skin test (TST) positive, using a conservative evaluation of skin test results: 15 mm induration was interpreted as positive for those with history of BCG vaccination, ascertained by evidence of a scar. The authors accurately note that this would underestimate those with true LTBI who may have received BCG only in infancy;2 however, this would result in false positives if vaccine was given in later years but without scar development.3 The primary limitation of these cross-sectional data, the measurement of the number of prisoners with new and existing LTBI at the same time, is compounded by the lack of information on what proportion of the prison population has active TB. The sample size, 6% of prisoners (n = 425), was too small to allow reliable estimates of active TB if these 48% had been followed up to determine if any had active TB.
The authors make three overall conclusions on the basis of their data: first, that the prevalence of LTBI is alarmingly high in this prison population; second, that conditions in the prisons suggest transmission of TB within the facility; and thirdly that infection control measures need to be taken in prisons (to diagnose people with TB) that will reduce transmission. Each conclusion might benefit from review in the context of the work and recommendations of others.
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Prevalence of LTBI in prisoners in Pakistan |
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The authors compare their results with those found by Martin Sanchez et al., who reported prevalence of 55% in a Spanish prison,5 and with Koo et al., who reported 30% prevalence from a California prison.6 In both comparison settings the relatively high prevalence of LTBI among prisoners in countries with low population incidence of TB can be explained in part by co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).7 Perhaps more relevant is their comparison with the work of Adib et al., whose survey of all jails in Lebanon demonstrated LTBI prevalence of 45%.8 While HIV rates are not known for Pakistan, the authors cite a study among 3441 male prisoners in Sindh, Pakistan, in whom 1 was HIV-positive,9 and are appropriately cautious in concluding that their findings are in a mostly HIV-negative population. Therefore the authors are correct in their assessment that the high prevalence of TB infection in this prison population may lead to a significant public health crisis for prisons in the future, in the event that HIV co-infection becomes more prevalent in Pakistan.
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Transmission within the prison? |
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Duration of incarceration may represent primary infection within the correctional setting, but those with longer prison time may be members of the cohort of people who spend time in other high-risk areas, such as hospitals or homeless shelters, have substance use, or other cumulative TB risk factors outside prison. The fact that only 19% of prisoners in this sample had been in prison more than 2 years may suggest that prison terms are rather short. However, incarceration >6 months was found to be a risk factor for active TB in prisoners in Botswana, in a similar one-time survey in a prison system without regular screening at entry.10
Inadequate ventilation and enclosed spaces have been shown to be a risk for transmission.11,12 The variable available in this study, size of prison accommodation, is suggestive of crowded conditions conducive to TB transmission, but may also represent the realities of prison life and the relatively low position of the most marginalized people within the facility. Housing in prisons, in particular in countries where resources are scarce, can be influenced by internal hierarchies, making some people further marginalized within the prison system.13 Moreover, the frequent movements of prisoners make the interpretation of this single measurement difficult.
More importantly, however, is the lack of information on any screening or baseline health information that may have been gathered in the prison. The authors note that each prison had a medical consulting unit staffed with a qualified physician, but there is no indication of any screening of prisoners at entry. Hanau-Bercot et al. demonstrated prospectively that prison inmates have higher risk of developing active TB, independent of incarceration. Using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from inmates, they did not show direct transmission within the prison, with the exception of one probable transmission among 93 cases of active TB.14 They concluded, as did Hussain et al. in the current article,1 that accurate determination of transmission within a prison can only be done prospectively. There is considerable evidence of transmission of TB within prison walls; because of limited surveillance for active TB, delayed diagnosis, and high turnover11 those with unrecognized TB become index cases and transmit disease to both prisoners and prison workers.6,15,16 But without data to document conversion from TST negative to positive, or surveillance to detect development of active TB in a previously healthy prisoner or prison worker, the suggestion that the high rate of LTBI is a result of transmission inside the prison cannot be supported.
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Infection control measures |
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The WHO does not, however, recommend TST or preventive therapy for those found with LTBI in high prevalence countries where effective control of active TB is not in place. Their position is that detecting and adequately treating active TB is the most cost-effective way to control TB, and a programme to find and treat those with LTBI will divert resources from this priority.13 While it is true that the TST can be a valuable epidemiological tool to use as a baseline, against which to measure annual conversions from negative to positive in order to detect transmission within the facility, the primary focus of prison TB control, in particular in settings with limited resources, should be the identification and treatment of prisoners with active TB. As the authors have not described any systematic screening of prisoners at entry for active TB in these Pakistan prisons, one would question the recommendation of routine TST for prisoners in this setting.
Complementing the active case-finding is the need for adequate treatment of those found to have active TB. The relatively short prison terms in this study (52% were in prison less than 1 year) raises the possibility that people will not be incarcerated long enough for adequate treatment, a concern not raised by this paper but one that is critically important for control of the TB epidemic. Treatment by Directly Observed Treatment Shortcourse (DOTS) case management, whether in prison or by linking with community resources, is a crucial step both to cure the individual patient and to minimize development of resistant strains. DOTS, including case detection, fully supervized standard short-course treatment, reliable provision of drugs, effective monitoring of the TB programme, and government/prison commitment to TB control, are the key components to managing TB. These seemingly simple steps are complicated by the need for integration of services, within prison systems as well as with the outside community, to detect and treat cases who come and go from the prison setting to the community.
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Conclusion |
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References |
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