Tuberculosis outbreak in a housing unit for human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in a correctional facility: transmission risk factors and effective outbreak control

Clin Infect Dis. 2002 Mar 1;34(5):668-76. doi: 10.1086/338815. Epub 2002 Jan 17.

Abstract

In 1995, an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) occurred among residents of a correctional-facility housing unit for inmates infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We isolated and treated patients who were suspected to have TB. To determine risk factors for in-prison transmission of TB, we conducted a case-control study to compare inmate case patients infected with a distinct outbreak strain of TB with control subjects who resided in the HIV unit. We identified 15 case patients during a 4-month period. Among inmates with a CD4 count of <100 cells/mm(3), case patients were more likely than control subjects to spend >/=20 hours per week in a communal day room (odds ratio, 42; P=.002) and were less likely to have a television in their single-person room (odds ratio, 0.10; P=.003). The communal day room was a likely site of transmission. Successful collaboration between the correctional system and public health departments halted the outbreak.

MeSH terms

  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / epidemiology*
  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / transmission
  • Adult
  • California / epidemiology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Disease Transmission, Infectious
  • HIV Infections / complications*
  • Humans
  • Prisons
  • Risk Factors
  • Tuberculosis / epidemiology*
  • Tuberculosis / etiology
  • Tuberculosis / transmission