IN RESPONSE to the alarming increase of tuberculosis (TB) rates in many of the nation's prisons, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta, Ga, has published recommendations for the prevention and control of TB among prison populations (MMWR. 1989;38:313-320,325 and this issue.)
This is the first time the CDC has issued guidelines regarding health care in correctional institutions. Speaking at the 13th National Conference on Correctional Health Care in Chicago, Ill, John J. Seggerson, Jr, MD, chief, Program Services Branch of the CDC's Division of Tuberculosis Control, explained the epidemiologic reasons for the recommendations.
Eleven Known Outbreaks
Over the last few years, increasing rates of TB in certain demographic pockets have brought the decline in the incidence of TB in the United States to a halt. Since 1985, 11 known TB outbreaks have occurred in prisons in eight states, Seggerson says.One such outbreak was described at the conference by