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Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
AN assessment of the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) and factors associated with the disease in the country’s prisons is set to start at the beginning of July, the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Elizabeth Banda has said.TB infection, transmission and related deaths are prevalent in the country’s prisons.

Chief Supt Banda said the assessment is an important exercise that will involve prisoners, prison officers and their families.

“When we look at TB prevalence, prisons are classified as one of the high-risk groups. It’s therefore important to check and compare the prevalence of the diseases with other communities,” said Chief Supt Banda.

“This gives us an idea in planning how we can reduce TB prevalence in the prisons. The nationwide assessment will start on July 1, 2015 and it will involve prisoners, prison officers and their families.”

She added that the ZPCS was committed to fighting the spread of TB in prisons.

“Reducing TB cases in our prisons requires government and development partners to increase and sustain financial commitments for TB control. I’m glad that this assessment will take place in our prisons soon,” she added.

Chief Supt Banda said the exercise was vital to ensure that every inmate has access to TB prevention and treatment services in all the 46 correctional institutions nationally.

She said the ZPCS also prioritised addressing factors that contribute to the spread of TB.

Chief Supt Banda said the assessment would be done with assistance from the United Nations Office on Drug and Clinic (UNODC).

UNODC has already started recruiting consultants for the assessment of TB prevalence.

“The UNODC regional office for Southern Africa is currently recruiting for the consultancy of the assessment of TB prevalence and factors associated with TB transmission among the prison population in Zimbabwe,” the UN agency said.

Last week, Matabeleland North acting provincial medical director Dr Tafadzwa Sibanda said the government was making frantic efforts to minimise the spread of TB in the province’s prisons, with the Health and Child Care Ministry in the process of installing a GeneXpert machine at Khami Maximum Prison.

The GeneXpert machine diagnoses TB by detecting the presence of TB bacteria, as well as testing for resistance to the drug.

Dr Sibanda said in 2014, Khami Prison had 71 TB patients of whom 34 were HIV positive and in the first quarter of 2014, 21 patients tested positive for TB compared to 19 during the same period this year.

The TB epidemic in Africa is largely driven by factors related to poverty and the negative effects of TB and HIV co-infection.