NCJ Number
165410
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 21 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1996) Pages: 6-7
Editor(s)
G Wees
Date Published
1996
Length
2 pages
Annotation
A survey by the Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focused on the levels of tuberculosis (TB) infection among inmates and correctional personnel, screening and treatment methods, community referrals for released or paroled inmates, and other data regarding containment and control methods.
Abstract
Results indicate that TB infection continues to be frequent among inmates, but only a small percentage of infected persons ever develop active disease. About 14 percent of the State and Federal inmates tested during the 2 years before the survey had positive test results, for a total of 68,000 inmates. The participants reported experiencing 5,609 TB skin test conversions. However, a substantial proportion of the correctional systems reported no data. Results also revealed that the incidence of active TB disease among inmates appears to be lessening. In addition, correctional facilities are complying with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for containment and treatment at higher rates than in previous studies. However, many systems were unable to provide data on coinfection with TB and HIV, and validation survey results revealed that some facilities were not following their correctional system's TB treatment and control policies. Additional results, table, and note