NCJ Number
139930
Journal
Summary for Corrections Administrators Dated: (Summer 1992) Pages: 9-18
Date Published
1992
Length
10 pages
Annotation
A survey was sent to all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, and the Correctional Service of Canada to provide a national investigation of the extent of tuberculosis among prison inmates as well as to examine the approaches of prison systems to the problem.
Abstract
A table shows the number of newly-diagnosed cases of tuberculosis in prison systems during 1991 for all but Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, and Nevada and the current (as of February 1992) number of active cases of tuberculosis. Another table shows the prevalence of tuberculosis among HIV-positive inmates. The respondent for New York reported that 23 percent of HIV-positive inmates were PPD-positive and that 90 percent of inmates with active cases of tuberculosis also were HIV-positive. Thirty of the 50 responding agencies test inmates annually for tuberculosis. A third table shows the percentage of each agency's prison system that has tested positive on a tuberculosis skin test. The final table indicates the number of inmates in each State receiving Isoniazid (INH) prophylaxis, which helps prevent PPD-positive patients from developing a full-blown case of tuberculosis. 4 tables