Prevalence of Previously Undetected Tuberculosis & Underlying Risk Factors for Transmission in a Prison Setting in Ibadan, South-Western Nigeria

People with congregational tendencies such as the prison inmates constitute an important target group in the global efforts towards the control of tuberculosis (TB). The prison setting in most developing countries particularly Nigeria, currently does not have routine diagnostic procedures for TB despite the existing risks that could facilitate disease transmission.

We conducted a cross sectional study among the inmates in a major prison in south-western Nigeria for TB by screening their sputum samples using a simple random sampling method coupled with questionnaire interview, on the assumption of sub-clinical pulmonary TB infection. The overall TB prevalence found was 1.2% (2/164). Significant risk factors that could facilitate disease transmission in the prison included lack of BCG immunization (p = 0.017); history of contact with TB patients (p = 0.020); prolonged cough (p = 0.016) and drug abuse (p = 0.019). Our findings of 1.2% undetected pulmonary TB infection among the inmates though low; still reiterate previous observation that the prison setting constitutes a veritable environment for TB transmission and a threat to public health. Efforts are therefore needed to institute routine screening and reduce the risk factors associated with TB transmission among prison inmates in Nigeria.

Table 1

Socio-demographic data of the prison inmates screened for tuberculosis in Ibadan, south-western Nigeria

Variable	Category	Frequency(n)	Percentage (%)
Sex	Male	153	93.3
	Female	11	6.7
Age group (years)	16-20	12	7.3
	21-30	87	53.1
	31-40	42	25.6
	≥41	23	14.0
Occupation	Artisans	119	72.6
	Professional	2	1.2
	Livestock worker	9	5.5
	Civil servant	6	3.7
	Others	28	17.0
Duration in prison	<3 months	59	36.0
	> 3 months	105	64.0
History of previous prolonged cough	None	111	67.7
	Yes	53	32.3
History of sputum screening at entry	None	132	80.5
	Yes	32	19.5
History of previous TB screening	None	131	79.9
	Yes	31	20.1
History of BCG immunization	None	44	26.8
	Yes	120	73.2
History of contact with TB patient	None	86	52.4
	Yes	78	47.6
History of cellmate with history of prolonged cough	None	68	41.5
	Yes	96	58.5
Presence of cough	None	136	82.9
	Yes	28	17.1
History of drug abuse	None	71	43.3
	Yes	93	56.7

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/dlXy1I

By:   HK Adesokan,1 EO Cadmus,2 WB Adeyemi,3 O. Lawal,3 C.O. Ogunlade,4 E. Osman,5 OD Olaleye,6 and SIB Cadmus1,*

¹Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

²Department of Preventive Medicine and Primary Care, University of Ibadan, Ibadan

³Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Unit, Oyo State Ministry of Health, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

⁴Department of Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan

⁵Damien Foundation Belgium in Nigeria

⁶Department of Virology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

^*Corresponding Author: Cadmus, S.I.B. Postal address: PMB 001, Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Email: moc.liamg@5cnoemis Phone: +234 80 237 510 93

  

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