Tuberculosis cases in a prison in the extreme south of Brazil

Abstract

Introduction. Tuberculosis (TB) control is a challenge, especially in vulnerable populations, such as prisoners. Hypothesis. In prison houses, the transmission of micro-organisms that cause infectious diseases can occur due to the susceptibility and immune compromise of prisoners, and due to the precarious physical conditions of the prison houses. However, strategies such as monitoring by health professionals, can mitigate the transmission of these micro-organisms, as well as, reduce the number of coinfections and antimicrobials resistance. Aim. This study attempted to analyse the dynamics of transmission and the antimicrobial resistance profile of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains obtained from prisoners and to characterize the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory profiles of prisoners diagnosed with TB. Methodology. A cross-sectional and retrospective study was conducted with sputum samples collected from 228 distinct prisoners who were treated at the Health Unit located in the Regional Penitentiary of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The antimicrobial resistance profile of the strains was evaluated using the Resazurin Microtiter Assay and the transmission dynamics was investigated using 15-loci MIRU-VNTR. Results. Thirty-five patients (15.4 %) were diagnosed with TB, and when a TB/HIV coinfection was assessed, 8.6 % (3/35) of the patients were positive. In addition, all patients with results available for HBV, HCV, syphilis and diabetes mellitus were negative. Based on the genotypic profile, 55.9 % of the clinical isolates were grouped into five groups. One isolate with mono-resistance to isoniazid and two with mono-resistance to streptomycin were found. Conclusion. The presence of a Health Unit may have influenced the low numbers of TB/HIV, TB/HBV, TB/HCV, TB/syphilis coinfections and TB cases resistant to antimicrobials. Recent M. tuberculosis transmission can be inferred based on the high percentage of formatting of clusters. This situation stresses the need to improve active and passive detection, the screening of individuals for TB upon entrance into prison for early detection, and the implementation of prophylactic measures to reduce M. tuberculosis transmission.

Indicadores da tuberculose na população carcerária do estado da Bahia-Brasil: um estudo de série temporal

“…O perfil da população encarcerada com tuberculose é de homens, pretos/pardos, adultos jovens e com pouca escolaridade. Esses que adoecem são semelhantes a outras pesquisas e os mesmos que estão no regime correccional (6,8,14,15).…”

Fatores associados à tuberculose em pessoas privadas de liberdade no estabelecimento penitenciário provincial de Tete, Moçambique

“…Um outro estudo sobre tuberculose em penitenciária de Nova Iorque em 2016, estimou uma prevalência de coinfecção TB-HIV de 3 vezes mais que o constatado na pesquisa vigente, (EDGE, et al, 2016). O estudo feito na prisão do extremo sul do Brasil concluiu que a presença de uma Unidade de Saúde pode ter influenciado ao baixo número de coinfecções TB/HIV nas PPLs (BIERHALS et al, 2021).…”