Florida's tuberculosis epidemic. Public health response
Witte, J.J.; Bigler, W.J.
Journal of the Florida Medical Association 81(3): 178-182
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0015-4148 PMID: 8195774 Document Number: 437667
Florida ranked fourth in the nation with 1,707 tuberculosis cases reported in 1992 for a rate of 12.7 per 100,000 population. Thirteen percent of these patients had AIDS. Recent cases in prisons, shelters, hospitals and schools have stimulated interest and media coverage. Resurgence of strains of multiple-drug resistant tuberculosis is a serious concern. The Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, in collaboration with allied agencies, has utilized several initiatives in response. The most significant, Tuberculosis Epidemic Containment Plan, details intervention strategies needed to eliminate TB in the state by the year 2010. Successful implementation depends upon local TB prevention and control coalitions that include private and public sector providers.