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Kyrgyz prisons tackle highly infectious strain of TB
A drug-resistant and virtually untreatable form of tuberculosis is sweeping prisons in Kyrgyzstan.
- Agencies
- Published: 15:47 March 24, 2008
Bishkek: A drug-resistant and virtually untreatable form of tuberculosis is sweeping prisons in Kyrgyzstan.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is trying to help the prisoners and stop the lethal disease from spreading outside prison walls.
The ICRC said Kyrgz prisons are a breeding ground for TB, with prisoners 30 times more likely to contract it than members of the general population.
A survey by the organisation and prison authorities showed 40 percent of prisoners were TB suspects.
"Levels of tuberculosis in Kyrgyzstan's prisons are the highest I have seen in my entire career," Doctor Maxim Berdnikov, who heads the ICRC's TB programme, told the BBC.
Even if prisoners arrive healthy, they are highly susceptible to catching the disease. "Newly arriving detainees have very high chances of catching this," he said.
The ICRC said prisoners are often kept in overcrowded and badly ventilated conditions. Sanitary facilities are primitive and nutrition is poor.
In a prison block, about 30 men live in one crowded room - ideal conditions for the spread of the disease.
Prisons are also seeing growth in varieties of TB known as MDR, or multi drug resistant.
ICRC experts says 37 percent of new TB cases in Kyrgz prisons are drug resistant, making them extremely difficult to treat.
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