Two inmates, not 300, diagnosed with TB: Prison director

By The Nation

 

 

Nakhon Ratchasima Central Prison director Pakdee Tangtham on Friday said that a misunderstanding of information is behind previous news reports that about 300 inmates at the facility had been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB).

 

Pakdee said that only two of the prison’s 3,252 inmates, had been diagnosed with TB while another 142 inmates had some form of respiratory or lung abnormalities.

 

Tests had not yet confirmed whether each prisoner’s abnormalities were TB, emphysema or other lung complications caused by smoking. 

 

While waiting for the detailed lab test result, inmates with the initial diagnosis of abnormalities had been separated from the rest of prison population, he said.

 

Pakdee said erroneous news reports had caused alarm among prison officials, people living in nearby communities and relatives of inmates.

 

“The prison is not a source of TB. Some inmates had brought the infection from outside,” he said.

 

The prison would provide treatment for any inmate suffering from TB or other infections, as is their basic right, and in order to prevent an outbreak, said Pakdee.

 

Newly arriving inmates undergo a heath check, which includes an X-ray examination. He said most prison inmates suffered from stress, diabetes and high blood pressure.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30325510

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-9-1

  300 down to 2...a misunderstanding 

Two could have active TB and the other 298 have a positive PPD test. 

"Some inmates had brought the infection from outside".  So  there is more than 2 then ?????

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Pakdee said erroneous news reports had caused alarm among prison officials, people living in nearby communities and relatives of inmates.

From the cover page of the bestselling book- press statements for dummies:

 

TB is a highly contagious air borne disease. If one has it and is in close proximity to other inmates then they have a very good chsnce of contracting it

Newsflash:   If TB is brought in from the outside, then it becomes "on the inside".  Gandalf is absolutely right; it's highly contagious.  And if you dig a little, you'll see that TB is considered endemic to Thailand.  If all inmates entering the facility aren't getting a PPD skin test, they probably should be.  And since PPD testing can result in false positives, my guess is that a respectable percentage will require follow-ups.  If only 2 out of a prison population of over 3200 are positive for TB, I'm a bit surprised.