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Published on: September 5, 2017
High prevalence and risk factors associated with latent tuberculous infection in two Colombian prisons
Z V Rueda1, L Arroyave2, D Marin3
1Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín, Colombia.
Setting:
Two prisons in Medellín and Itagüí, Colombia.
Objective:
To determine the prevalence of tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity in prisoners and the annual risk of tuberculous infection (ARTI), to identify risk factors associated with a positive result, and to describe progression to active disease.
Design:
Cross-sectional study. Inmates were included if time of incarceration was ⩾1 year and excluded if subjects had had previous or active tuberculosis (TB), or conditions that could hamper TST administration or interpretation.
Results:
We screened 1014 inmates. The overall prevalence of TST positivity was 77.6%. The first TST administration resulted in 66% positivity, and the second TST an additional 11.6%. In Prison One, the ARTI was 5.09% in high TB incidence cell blocks and 2.72% in low TB incidence blocks. In Prison Two, the ARTI was 2.77%. Risk factors associated with TST positivity were history of previous incarceration and length of incarceration. Among all those included in the study, four individuals developed active pulmonary TB.
Conclusion:
Prevalence of TST positivity in prisoners and the ARTI were higher than in the general population, but differed between prisons; it is important to apply a second TST to avoid an overestimation of converters during follow-up.
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