Setting: Tuberculosis (TB) is highly prevalent in prisons of the former Soviet Union.
Objective: To understand the behavioral, demographic and biological factors placing inmates in Tajikistan at risk for active TB.
Design: We administered a behavioral and demographic survey to 1317 inmates in two prison facilities in Sughd province, Tajikistan along with radiographic screening for pulmonary TB.
Background: Prisons of the former Soviet Union (FSU) have high rates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and are thought to drive general population tuberculosis (TB) epidemics. Effective prison case detection, though employing more expensive technologies, may reduce long-term treatment costs and slow MDR-TB transmission.
Methods And Findings: We developed a dynamic transmission model of TB and drug resistance matched to the epidemiology and costs in FSU prisons.