Homeless shelter context and tuberculosis illness experiences during a large outbreak in Atlanta, Georgia

This study was conducted in Atlanta, GA, during an ongoing outbreak of drug-resistant TB among PEH that began in 2008.7 Atlanta has a population of about 5.7 million, with a homeless population estimated at 4317 in 2015.9,10 The metropolitan area is primarily located in Fulton County, where there was an average of 55 cases of TB per year from 2008 to 2015, and 36% of TB cases occurred among PEH.7 The county’s public health response to the outbreak included shelter-based prevention and control interventions implemented across all homeless facilities, including TB screening requirements for admission to shelters (TB card program), active TB case finding measures (e.g., intake symptom screening, cough logs), increased availability of voluntary latent tuberculous infection (LTBI) screening, TB education activities (e.g., shelter staff/ resident teaching, educational posters), and environmental control measures.8

Publication Date: 
2017
Volume: 
7
Issue: 
3
Journal Name: 
International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Health solutions for the poor