title: Tuberculosis transmission in a large urban jail.
abstract: Following diagnosis of moderately advanced tuberculosis in an inmate of Cook County Jail, tuberculin testing was performed to assess the degree of transmission of tuberculosis within the jail. Twenty-three percent of inmates exposed to the index patient were initially found to be tuberculin positive. Subsequent tuberculin testing three months later demonstrated a 71% rate of skin-test conversion in previously tuberculin-negative inmates exposed to the index patient. The rate of infectivity of tuberculosis within a jail is analogous to a household situation. Despite major obstacles, modern programs of tuberculosis screening and treatment are essential in correctional institutions.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois; D008297:Male; D011330:Prisons / Q000592:standards; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000635:transmission*