This Week in PLoS Medicine: TB in prisons; WHO & HIV; HIV Biomarkers; Guidelines in health systems

In the final publishing week before the new year, PLoS Medicine publishes 5 new articles, including a research article on tuberculosis in prisons and a related editorial. PLoS Medicine will resume publication on January 4th.

The PLoS Medicine Editors discuss the persistent problem of tuberculosis in prisons around the world and how it affects the health of inmates and the broader community.

A systematic review by Iacopo Baussano and colleagues synthesizes published research to show that improved tuberculosis (TB) control in prisons could significantly reduce the burden of TB both inside and outside prisons.

Rochelle Walensky and colleagues use a model-based analysis to examine which of the 2010 WHO antiretroviral therapy guidelines should be implemented first in resource-limited settings by ranking them according to survival, cost-effectiveness, and equity.

David Boulware and colleagues prospectively followed 101 ART-naïve Ugandans with AIDS and recent cryptococcal meningitis and investigated clinical features after initiation of ART to identify biomarkers for prediction and diagnosis of CM-IRIS (cryptococcal meninigitis-related immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome).

Based upon a review of the literature and consultation with experts, Robert Chad Swanson and colleagues present a set of guiding principles for health systems strengthening.

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