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2030-01-01
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- IOC - Artigos de Periódicos [12968]
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EXTENSIVE MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS CIRCULATION IN A HIGHLY ENDEMIC PRISON AND THE NEED FOR URGENT ENVIRONMENTAL INTERVENTIONS
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Abstract
Aimed at assessing the circulation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a highly endemic prison, this 13-month prospective study was performed on strains isolated from tuberculosis (TB) cases detected passively and actively. We used X-ray screening of newly admitted inmates and mass screening at the beginning of the study and again 1 year later. Of the 94 strains genotyped by restriction fragment-length polymorphism, 79 (84·0%) belonged to one of the 12 identified clusters (2-21 strains each), including two main clusters (18 and 21 cases, respectively). A history of TB treatment was reported in 22/79 (27·8%) clustered cases. Time-space distribution of clustered cases was predominantly consistent with transmission, in micro-epidemics. Given the dominant pattern of exogenous infection and the extensive strain circulation, effective TB control should emphasize reduction of overcrowding and improvement of environmental measures as a complement to detection and treatment of cases.
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