Tuberculosis In Prisons

Tuberculosis has long been a disease that the human culture has been dealing with which entails significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. With dealing with such a horrific disease over the years, discoveries and evolution on the appropriate ways to contain, diagnose, and challengingly treat the disease has changed. One of the most concerning complications of this worldwide public health issue is the ability for it to quickly spread in high populated areas while becoming ever more resistant to forms of treatment not available in all locations around the world. This is a serious public

The Los Angeles County Sheriff 's Department is tasked with providing health care services to all incarcerated prisoners within a jail system which at present exceeds 18,500 inmates. Correctional Treatment Center (CTC) provides care and treatment for inmates requiring inpatient medical and or psychiatric care in this 196-bed rated medical unit located in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. The inmate population is in poor health, largely due to the lifestyle choices of the inmates which often include substance abuse, violence, and living on the streets of Los Angeles. They require the same basic medical care that all residents of Los Angeles County require, including routine illness to advanced medical issues such as tuberculosis (TB), AIDS/HIV+, heart disease, diabetes, dialysis, paraplegics, and acute mental health problems. Additionally, problems associated with aging are becoming common as the jail population increasingly includes older inmates. In the wake of chronic overcrowding in the county lockups, the Sheriff 's Department has been struggling to provide adequate care for thousands of inmates, many of whom have never been treated, with illnesses ranging from tuberculosis to AIDS to schizophrenia. Reported rates of tuberculosis in jails and prisons are more than six times higher than those for the general population. Jails and prisons concentrate individuals at high risk for TB or noncompliance with therapy, including those who are

(McMurray, 2007). “The agent in this study is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, an acid fast aerobic rod that reproduces slowly and is hypersensitive to heat and ultraviolet light. TB primarily affects the respiratory system; however, it can also affect the pericardium, lymph nodes, meninges, kidneys, intestines, bones, joints, and reproductive organs” (The Merck Manual, 2014). “The transmission of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis is spread from person to person via airborne droplets through actions such as coughing, talking and sneezing. The smaller the droplet, the longer it can stay in the air after the infected person has left the area. This causes an increase in the probability of inhalation by another individual. Passing TB from a family member or co-worker is more likely than a stranger in a store or on the streets”. (Reichler et. al, 2002). Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the infectious disease agent, is readily transmitted to susceptible humans, the host, through respiratory exposure in communal settings or public gatherings, the environment. Individuals with compromised immune systems, such as cancer, being on corticosteroid therapy, and HIV/AIDS, are at greatest risk for getting TB infection. Healthcare workers are continuously exposed to illnesses at the hospitals and long term care facilities, which puts them at risk for

Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These bacteria spread through the air, most often affecting the lungs. Factors that predispose one to develop tuberculosis include malnourishment, overcrowding of public areas, homelessness, and substance abuse, affecting about 300 people in Toronto every year (City of Toronto, n.d.). Hence, the City of Toronto initiated a TB care and prevention program to provide support for those infected with tuberculosis as well as helping to decrease the spread of TB. Nightingale’s tenets of ventilation, cleanliness, light, and nutrition all become apparent within this program as there are standard minimum guidelines for the treatment of those who are institutionalized. These standards include

Tuberculosis is a disease of an infectious nature caused by a bacterium known as mycobacterium tuberculosis. The disease spreads through the air. People with the disease can spread it to susceptible people through coughing, sneezing, talking or spitting. It mainly affects the lungs and other parts such as the lymph nodes and kidneys can also be affected. The symptoms for TB are fatigue, coughing, night sweats, weight loss and fever. One third of the population of the world is affected with mycobacterium tuberculosis. The rate of infection is estimated to be one person per second. About 14 million people in the world are infected with active tuberculosis. Drug resistant TB has been recorded to be a serious public health hazard in many countries. Resistant strains have developed making it difficult to treat the disease. TB has caused millions of death mainly in people living with HIV/AIDS ADDIN EN.CITE Ginsberg19981447(Ginsberg, 1998)1447144717Ginsberg, Ann M.The Tuberculosis Epidemic: Scientific Challenges and OpportunitiesPublic Health Reports (1974-)Public Health Reports (1974-)128-13611321998Association of Schools of Public Health00333549http://www.jstor.org/stable/4598234( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_3" o "Ginsberg, 1998 #1447" Ginsberg, 1998). The World Health Organization came up with the DOTS (Directly Observed, Therapy, Short course) strategy. The approach involves diagnosing cases and treating patients with drugs for about 6-8

Tuberculosis (TB), which is brought on by contamination with an individual from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, is a noteworthy reason for incapacity and passing in numerous parts of the world. The frequency (recently reported cases) of tuberculosis in Louisiana is near the normal occurrence in the United States. . In 2013, Louisiana: Ranked eleventh among the 50 states in TB rates (3 for each 100,000 people) and 22.3% of TB cases were foreign-born people (CDC, 2015). As in the U.S., frequency has diminished

According to Henry J. Steadman in his article titled Prevalence of Serious Mental Illness Among Jail Inmates and sponsored by Psychiatric Services, “⅔ of convicts met criteria for a lifetime psychiatric disorder, anxiety disorder, and antisocial personality disorder.” Theodore M. Hammett, Mary Patricia Harmon, and William Rhodes also stated in the article The Burden of Infectious Disease Among Inmates of and Releases From United States Correctional Facilities sponsored by American Journal of Public Health, that “Political leaders and the public have not recognized the importance of correctional settings for health interventions.” With this information at hand, government should take action into

The impact of budget cuts and a depressed economy continues to pose health care problems for jails and prisons as a whole. The high rate of disease and illness experienced in the prison population poses a threat not only to the prisoners, but to the staff and general public as well (Summary, 2007). Although society thinks of prisons and jails as self-contained, what is occurring inside finds its way to the outside. For instance, untreated staph infections, hepatitis C, and HIV can directly impact the family and friends of inmates, as well as neighborhoods and communities (Summary, 2007).

Findings of tuberculosis in the homeless population are no surprise, as this specific population has a high incidence of conditions that increase the risk of TB, including: substance abuse, HIV infection, and congregation in crowded shelters. With these risk factors that are present amongst this vulnerable community, the spread of TB increases prominently.

While researching I have found numerous article about the negatives of mentally ill in the prison system. I have also found information on the impacts of solitary or the impacts of the negative environment on the metal stability of those in prison. However, finding information on what is being done to improve conditions has been harder to find.

I remember thinking that it only took seven minutes to knock off Garvin’s Big Star supermarket; but life plus 60 years to pay for it! I could hear Mama’s voice I my head saying, “you may get by but you won’t get away.” And “Sin is a thrill until you get the bill.” Mama, again, you were right!

Mulvey, E. P., & Schubert, C. A. (2017). Mentally Ill Individuals in Jails and Prisons. Crime & Justice, 46(1), 231-277.

Little was known about treatment and prevention of the disease at that time. It was not until 1953 that the United States began collecting data and reports on the 84,304 new cases of TB. This data could be used in research. TB was recognized as a preventable deadly disease, and a common goal to eradicate TB was adopted. Over the next 32 years, the new TB cases dropped 74%. By 1985, there were only 22,201 TB cases. History notes that law makers and public health officials became complacent and thought they had found the solution for eradicating TB. Resources for TB surveillance, prevention, and treatment options were reduced, while homeless numbers increased. This changed history as from 1985 to 1992 TB rates started to increase. Data collected from demographic regions and surveillance records show TB cases rose by 20% in those seven years to equal new 26,673 cases, and the estimated number of TB cases (old and new cases together) during that time was more than 64,000 cases. This was the last recorded peek in TB history. Since 1992, there has been a decrease of 67% in all TB cases. Studies reflect this decrease from 10.5 to 3.4 per 100,000 persons. Much credit for this continued decline is attributed to state and federal aid in addition to the state and local programs aimed at fighting TB and the helping the homeless population. Continued public education, proactive surveillance,

Tuberculosis is among the fatal diseases that are spread through the air. It’s contagious, meaning that it spreads from one infected individual to another, and at times it spreads very fast. In addition to being contagious, the disease is an opportunist infection as it takes advantage of those with weak defense mechanism, and especially the ones with terminal diseases like HIV and AIDS. Tuberculosis is therefore among the major concerns for the World Health Organization due to its contagious nature (World Health Organization 1).

India, the second most populous country with over 1.31 billion people, has the highest burden of tuberculosis (TB) in the world, accounting for 20% of the global incidence of TB, and an even higher share of global incidence of multi–drug resistant (MDR) TB. With an estimated 2 million new cases of TB and 5, 00,000 TB-related deaths in India annually, those who got diagnosed with different forms of DR-TB were 35,385 cases but only 20,753 people started on multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) treatment in 2013. The National Tuberculosis Program was launched in 1962, but suffered heavily continuing TB led mortality. Acknowledging this reality, a Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) was launched by the Government of India in 1997, however even today it does not comply with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.