TB cases between 1985 and 1992 were recorded to have increased by an alarming rate of 20%. While much effort has since then been placed in controlling the prevalence and spread of the disease, there is still a gap that needs to be filled. This involves ensuring the full utilization of available health resources to bring the cases to an absolute minimum (Aguirre, K. M). The resurgence in TB could have been attributed to a lack of systematic management of TB cases and lack of proper structures aimed at promoting wellness and health education in the society. It is clear that the low-income class was the highly affected group during this resurgence. This then could imply that disparity in economic status and the related social influences such as poor housing, poor health and inaccessibility to health care were the major issues that led to this resurgence. Systematic measures such as health promotion and awareness campaigns on the disease were also not well funded and this gap in knowledge between key community stakeholders could have helped escalate the cases of TB
While there has been a significant reduction in TB cases in the community, prisoners as a special community have been experiencing an increased rate of infection. This is in regard to prison always recording a higher prevalence rates than those in the normal community settings. This is substantially down to a number of issues. On one hand, most prisons are overcrowded, understaffed in terms of health personnel, inadequate treatment and late detection of TB cases among prisoners and poor implementation of measures to control prevalence (Reyes, 2007). The lack of special consideration for prison as high-risk areas that could be well acting as breeding grounds for TB has also played a factor in causing this increase. It is well in order to place measures to ensure that both the prisoners and the staff are well protected from infections considering the interactions between prisoners and staff in these areas. Risks of increasing rates in prisons will ultimately be felt within the community especially due to the failure to follow up those who have been released for continued medication.
The article “Pitfalls of TB management in prisons, revisited” by Reyes (2007) explores the increasing cases of TB prevalence in prisons worldwide. It also reflects on the major causes of this increase as compared to the TB rates in the corresponding community context. The report gives a substantial background for the necessity of interventions aimed at controlling prevalence of TB in prisons. The report notes that the prison may act the reservoirs and sources of TB to the community owing to interactions between prisoners and the society through the intermediaries such as staff. The report also identifies a wide array of issues that may have caused this increase and subsequently offers recommendations to improving sanitation and healthcare provision in prisons. The source is based on research finds and thus, the arguments and recommendations are authentic. The on-the-ground research at various prisons also provides a further support for its reliability.
References
Aguirre, K. M. A Simple Plan: EL Trudeau, the Rabbit Island Experiment, and Tuberculosis Treatment.
Reyes, H. (2007). Pitfalls of TB management in prisons, revisited. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 3(1), 43-67.
