Research shows that more people are dying of tuberculosis today than ever before; TB accounts for one-third of all AIDS-related deaths worldwide; and TB is the single biggest killer worldwide of young women.

Studies also show correctional facilities are high-risk settings for tuberculosis transmission and present a public health problem for correctional facility employees, inmates, the communities to which inmates are released and where employees live and work.

As part of World TB Day, a training course for health care staff in California state prisons and local health departments will be offered in Fresno on March 24 and 25.

In conjunction with this event, a press conference will be held to discuss how correctional health impacts the public health of the entire community and the connection between HIV and TB.

The Francis J. Curry National Tuberculosis Center is a joint project of the San Francisco Department of Public Health and UCSF and is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.