Prevalence of Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Associated Risk Factors Among Inmates of Lira Central Prison, Lira Municipality, Mid- Northern Uganda.

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, it is very contagious, airborne and a worldwide pandemic. It ranks as the second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, after the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Each person infected with TB infects 10- 15 people on average yearly. People concentrated in congregated facility such as prison are important but often neglected reservoirs for TB transmission and threaten the entire community. Therefore this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of TB in Lira central prison. Methodology: We conducted a descriptive cross sectional study on the inmates at Lira Central Prison, two hundred and fourty six inmates were enrolled, their sputa was analyzed using the ZN technique. Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis among inmates at Lira central prison as at July 2015. All inmates with cough for one or two weeks were included in the study. Results: Out of two hundred and forty six inmates enrolled, Four (04) out of 246 inmates screened were found to have pulmonary TB which translates as a prevalence rate of 1.62%. The infected age groups were 25-29 years (02) and 35-39 years (02) at that time. The prevalence of 1.62% as revealed by this study is lower compared to similar studies done in Mangaung Maximum prison South Africa by Peter Nyasulu et al, 2015 (8.8%). The prevalence of PTB is less common among the female inmates (00%). Recommendations: Improve the ventilation system of most of the wards where these inmates reside. The Uganda Prison Services should consider relocating some inmates to other nearby facilities which are not very congested. Mass screening of inmates and also screening at the entrance should continue to increase the detection rate of PTB.