Fighting tuberculosis in prisons

18-03-2011 Photo gallery

Tuberculosis knows no boundaries or barriers. It thrives on poor living conditions and overcrowding. It targets the poor and vulnerable, but anyone can catch it. Considered by many as a disease of the past, it kills 4,500 people every day and infects around 9.5 million annually. Here's a selection of photos first posted on flickr on the occasion of TB day in 2010.

- Someone who is put behind bars for a petty crime can wind up with a virtual death sentence if they catch TB from fellow detainees. Because the disease cannot be confined to a cell, it poses a serious health risk to visitors, medical staff, guards, their families and the wider public.
  © ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-az-e-00355
More images on flickr

Near the entrance to the prison hospital, a haggard-looking bunch of new arrivals waits in a temporary holding area.

Near the entrance to the prison hospital near Baku, a haggard-looking bunch of new arrivals waits in a temporary holding area. They've been transferred from other Azerbaijani jails because they are showing symptoms of TB. X-rays, sputum samples and blood tests will reveal if they've got the deadly microbes, and if so, how serious their condition is.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-az-e-00319

Salman takes his daily dose of pills under the watchful eye of a prison doctor and guard at the Specialised Treatment Institution for TB-infected inmates near Baku, Azerbaijan.

Salman takes his daily dose of pills under the watchful eye of a prison doctor and guard at the Specialised Treatment Institution for TB-infected inmates near Baku, Azerbaijan.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-az-e-00300

A TB-infected detainee gets a chest x-ray at Baku's specialized prison hospital.

A TB-infected detainee gets a chest x-ray at Baku's specialized prison hospital. Over the past 15 years, the International Committee of the Red Cross has worked with the authorities to improve screening, diagnosis and treatment of TB cases within Azerbaijan's detention system, helping to bring the number of TB-related deaths among prisoners down from around 300 in 1999 to 20 last year.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-az-e-00294

Wardens check on the prisoners who are serving life sentences and suffering from TB. Each detainee is allowed to spend two hours per day outside their cell in a cage-like courtyard.

Wardens check on the prisoners who are serving life sentences and suffering from TB. Each detainee is allowed to spend two hours per day outside their cell in a cage-like courtyard.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-az-e-00312

Thanks to support from the ICRC over the past 15 years, the diagnostics capacity of the prison lab in Baku, Azerbaijan, has increased dramatically, helping to save lives.

Thanks to support from the ICRC over the past 15 years, the diagnostics capacity of the prison lab in Baku, Azerbaijan, has increased dramatically, helping to save lives.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-az-e-00326

A lab technician at Baku’s TB prison hospital keeps track of sputum samples provided by infected prisoners

A lab technician at Baku’s TB prison hospital keeps track of sputum samples provided by infected prisoners. Sputum is a thick mucus produced by coughing which can be analysed for TB microbes.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-az-e-00333

The prison's TB diagnostics lab has expanded over the past 15 years to four times its original capacity thanks to help from the ICRC, which provided materials, training and technical support.

The prison's TB diagnostics lab has expanded over the past 15 years to four times its original capacity thanks to help from the ICRC, which provided materials, training and technical support.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-az-e-00330

Detainees walk the yard at Baku's TB treatment prison. Some patients wind up staying there for months or years while waiting to find the right combination of pills, powders and injections to cure them of this terrible disease.

Detainees walk the yard at Baku's TB treatment prison. Some patients wind up staying there for months or years while waiting to find the right combination of pills, powders and injections to cure them of this terrible disease.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-az-e-00351

The lifers, as the guard calls them, are allowed to spend two hours per day outside in this secured cage.

The "lifers", as the guard calls them, are allowed to spend two hours per day outside – individually or sometimes in pairs – in this secured cage. Sunlight and fresh air are crucial to killing TB microbes.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-az-e-00315

Children often catch TB from infected adults. These little boys are undergoing treatment in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, after getting the illness from their father.

Children often catch TB from infected adults. These little boys are undergoing treatment in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, after getting the illness from their father. Their grandmother sleeps in the hospital with them.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-ge-e-00621

Rati is a former detainee who recently finished an eight-month course of medication for regular TB.

Rati is a former detainee who recently finished an eight-month course of medication for regular TB. For the past 15 years, the ICRC has also been working with the authorities in Georgia to stem the spread of TB in prisons, which are breeding grounds for the disease. Rati lives in Tbilisi and is hoping to turn is life around after being cured of TB.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-ge-e-00628

Julliet is a young mom who was displaced during the 2008 armed conflict between Georgia and the Russian Federation. She and her baby boy, Peka, both have TB and are living in a camp near the city of Gori with the baby’s grandparents.

Julliet is a young mom who was displaced during the 2008 armed conflict between Georgia and the Russian Federation. She and her baby boy, Peka, both have TB and are living in a camp near the city of Gori with the baby’s grandparents. “Fleeing the war was nothing compared to learning that both my daughter and grandson were very sick,” says Julliet’s mother. “There’s nothing worse than watching those you love suffer from this illness.”
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-ge-e-00659

Vano leans on Tina for emotional support when the physical and psychological burden of his TB treatment gets to be too much. Patients often suffer from side effects including psychosis, hearing loss and liver problems.

Vano leans on Tina for emotional support when the physical and psychological burden of his TB treatment gets to be too much. Patients often suffer from side effects including psychosis, hearing loss and liver problems.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-ge-e-00667

(left) and Vano (right) Vardosanidze walk with Tina Karanadze (centre) from the Georgian Red Cross, which works with TB patients to encourage them to stick with their treatment until they are cured.

(left) and Vano (right) Vardosanidze walk with Tina Karanadze (centre) from the Georgian Red Cross, which works with TB patients to encourage them to stick with their treatment until they are cured.
© ICRC / Zalmaï Ahad / v-p-ge-e-00670

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