sentences:  Researcher Vivian Stern argues that the risk of transmission from prison populations to the general public calls for an integration of prison healthcare and national health services to better control both TB and MDR-TB.While second-line drugs necessary for treating MDR-TB are arguably more expensive than a typical regimen of DOTS therapy, infectious disease specialist Paul Farmer posits that the outcome of leaving infected prisoners untreated could cause a massive outbreak of MDR-TB in civilian populations, thereby inflicting a heavy toll on society.Additionally, as MDR-TB spreads, the threat of the emergence of totally-drug-resistant TB becomes increasingly apparent.