Tuberculosis case-finding and treatment in the central prison of Qazvin province, Islamic Republic of Iran

As a part of a comprehensive programme of tuberculosis (TB) control in the central prison in Qazvin, Islamic Republic of Iran, a programme of active case-finding was carried out from February 2004 to July 2005. From the 768 prisoners examined, 41 (5.3%) were suspected of TB and gave sputum samples. A total of 7 smear-positive TB cases were found, giving a TB prevalence in the prison of 910 per 100 000, 113 times the total TB prevalence in Qazvin province in the same year. From 7 diagnosed and treated patients, 4 were cured with the category 1 standard regimen, 1 completed treatment and 2 failed to complete treatment. Improvements are needed in TB case recognition of prisoners, especially newcomers.