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Mbarara, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mbarara Regional Prisons Laboratory has received its first GeneXpert Machine to undertake Tuberculosis examinations before integrating new inmates.
The GeneXpert machine detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a sample of sputum. If there are TB bacteria in the sample, the machine detects their DNA and automatically multiplies it, through the polymerase chain reaction-PCR technique. It also allows the machine to look at the structure of the genes and detect if a TB bacterium has developed resistance to drugs.
The machine, received through the Ministry of Health with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a boost to the laboratory which serves prisons in the great Ankole districts of Mbarara, Kyamugorani, Sheema, Ntungamo, Ibanda, Bushenyi, Mitooma among others.
Charles Butagasa, the Laboratory services coordinator for Uganda Prisons, said that with the absence of a GeneXpert Machine, the prisons couldn’t identify TB cases before integration into the rest of the inmate population. He added that they also faced delays in the return of results from samples taken to referral hospitals for diagnosis.
He said that TB cases in prisons are five times higher than in the general population. This is mainly a result of congestion, HIV prevalence and malnutrition.
Robert Walimbwa, a clinical officer at Mbarara Main prison, said that they registered 120 cases of TB last year with a weekly registration of 2-3 cases. However, the numbers have gone down this year with an average of 15 cases per month, a trend attributed to increased vigilance and screening.
Dr Stavia Turyahabwe, the assistant Commissioner in Charge of Tuberculosis and Leprosy in the Ministry of Health, said that prison facilities are key in fighting Tuberculosis because of the high concentration of cases compared to the general population. Dr Turyahabwa says that the prevalence in prisons now stands at 600 cases for every 100,000 people.
She said that with congestion and poor ventilation in the prisons, the aeration is not adequate yet transmission of the disease in such an environment is so high, adding that with the new equipment, the risk can be averted.
Innocent Draville, the officer in charge of Mbarara main Prison said they have a total of 2,021 inmates with 37 TB cases and with the provision of a GeneXpert machine they expect the numbers to go down
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