Menally-Ill
02-26-2003, 12:19 AM
Hepatitis C fears in jails unnoticed by Sask. woman
Lori Coolican
The StarPhoenix
Saturday, February 15, 2003
Saskatchewan's jails are breeding grounds for a disease that threatenspublic health, but the province doesn't seem eager to deal with the problem, according to a mother who is watching her son die at the age of 23.
It was hard enough for Judy to see Mark serving 18 months in the Saskatoon Correctional Centre.
But it was even worse when he came out last spring with hepatitis C. Coincidentally, he'd been tested for it by a doctor shortly before his incarceration, with negative results. He tested positive shortly after his release.
"I feel sorry for everyone that may have encountered my son and may havem unwittingly been put in danger," she told The StarPhoenix this week. "I feel sorry for the correctional (workers)."
Hepatitis C is blood borne. It can be transmitted by sharing a
toothbrush or razor blade, but usually spreads through intravenous drug use or sexual contact. Like AIDS, it carries a stigma of shame and judgment for patients and their families. Judy and her husband are businesspeople. She agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity.
When she started calling government offices about the situation last month, she was either brushed off or treated like a gold-digger looking for compensation, Judy said. But she wants policy changes for safety's sake, not money.
On Jan. 31, she wrote a letter asking, "How many released inmates are unaware of the fact that they may have contracted an infectious disease while in government care?"
She mailed it to the premier's office, the Opposition, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the NDP and Saskatchewan Party caucus offices, Health and Corrections officials, and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.
In response, her MLA mailed her some forms to apply for financial help with treatment costs. Corrections and Public Safety Minister Andrew Thompson's office has told her to expect a written reply, but won't tell her what's in the letter, she said.
No one else has responded.
"I've never seen anybody clam up so fast as when you mention hepatitis C," she said.
The U.S. Centre for Disease Control estimates hepatitis C is three to five times more prevalent among American prison inmates than in the general population. Whether the same situation exists here is anyone's guess.
Saskatchewan Justice doesn't know the extent of hepatitis C infection among provincial inmates, though it's considered a big problem and a committee is studying it, spokesperson Bill Derby acknowledged Friday.
"We don't have reliable data, essentially because it's a situation where it's self-disclosure," he explained.
Mandatory testing for hepatitis C is not allowed anywhere in the country because it would interfere with inmates' right to privacy, Derby said. Jails rely on offenders to voluntarily disclose their disease status when they begin their sentences.
That's a hit-and-miss proposition. It can take up to 30 years for symptoms to appear, and about 70 per cent of infected people don't even know they have it, according to Health Canada research.
Health professionals advise people who live or work with hepatitis C patients to use bleach whenever infected blood is spilled -- and spilled blood is a fact of life in Saskatchewan's crowded jails. But bleach is not.
"We don't give them bleach because it's also a weapon," Derby said.
A source inside the Saskatoon Correctional Centre told the StarPhoenix the level of hepatitis C is considered very high at the facility, affecting up to 70 per cent of the population. He, too, spoke on condition of anonymity, saying staff have been told not to communicate with the media.
Workers are warned not to touch blood with their bare hands unless they have to, he said.
"We had a little bit of instruction on it four or five years ago but, basically, all we've got is what they call 'universal precautions' -- you know, wash your hands after handling this. I mean, it's standard stuff that everybody should be doing. We do have a few blood spill kits . . . but very little training in how to use them."
The kits are only used when there's a major blood spill, he said.
"Very few people know how to use it, or have ever used it before."
Health officials in most parts of the world consider needle exchange programs the most effective measure to keep hepatitis C in check. That's a sticky issue in the Saskatoon jail, where the source described inmates attacking guards with dirty syringes, or even shooting blood at them.
"We've had several incidents of that," he said.
Though prison officials say they have a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to drug abuse in correctional facilities, they admit both drugs and syringes find their way inside. Needles are used over and over again -- for drugs, tattoos and body piercing.
Ironically, inmates are instructed on the proper way to sterilize a needle -- but if anyone catches them doing it, the needle will be taken away and they'll have to go looking for another one.
"It gets very complicated very quickly," Derby admitted. "It's a tough
nut."
Lori Coolican
The StarPhoenix
Saturday, February 15, 2003
Saskatchewan's jails are breeding grounds for a disease that threatenspublic health, but the province doesn't seem eager to deal with the problem, according to a mother who is watching her son die at the age of 23.
It was hard enough for Judy to see Mark serving 18 months in the Saskatoon Correctional Centre.
But it was even worse when he came out last spring with hepatitis C. Coincidentally, he'd been tested for it by a doctor shortly before his incarceration, with negative results. He tested positive shortly after his release.
"I feel sorry for everyone that may have encountered my son and may havem unwittingly been put in danger," she told The StarPhoenix this week. "I feel sorry for the correctional (workers)."
Hepatitis C is blood borne. It can be transmitted by sharing a
toothbrush or razor blade, but usually spreads through intravenous drug use or sexual contact. Like AIDS, it carries a stigma of shame and judgment for patients and their families. Judy and her husband are businesspeople. She agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity.
When she started calling government offices about the situation last month, she was either brushed off or treated like a gold-digger looking for compensation, Judy said. But she wants policy changes for safety's sake, not money.
On Jan. 31, she wrote a letter asking, "How many released inmates are unaware of the fact that they may have contracted an infectious disease while in government care?"
She mailed it to the premier's office, the Opposition, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the NDP and Saskatchewan Party caucus offices, Health and Corrections officials, and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.
In response, her MLA mailed her some forms to apply for financial help with treatment costs. Corrections and Public Safety Minister Andrew Thompson's office has told her to expect a written reply, but won't tell her what's in the letter, she said.
No one else has responded.
"I've never seen anybody clam up so fast as when you mention hepatitis C," she said.
The U.S. Centre for Disease Control estimates hepatitis C is three to five times more prevalent among American prison inmates than in the general population. Whether the same situation exists here is anyone's guess.
Saskatchewan Justice doesn't know the extent of hepatitis C infection among provincial inmates, though it's considered a big problem and a committee is studying it, spokesperson Bill Derby acknowledged Friday.
"We don't have reliable data, essentially because it's a situation where it's self-disclosure," he explained.
Mandatory testing for hepatitis C is not allowed anywhere in the country because it would interfere with inmates' right to privacy, Derby said. Jails rely on offenders to voluntarily disclose their disease status when they begin their sentences.
That's a hit-and-miss proposition. It can take up to 30 years for symptoms to appear, and about 70 per cent of infected people don't even know they have it, according to Health Canada research.
Health professionals advise people who live or work with hepatitis C patients to use bleach whenever infected blood is spilled -- and spilled blood is a fact of life in Saskatchewan's crowded jails. But bleach is not.
"We don't give them bleach because it's also a weapon," Derby said.
A source inside the Saskatoon Correctional Centre told the StarPhoenix the level of hepatitis C is considered very high at the facility, affecting up to 70 per cent of the population. He, too, spoke on condition of anonymity, saying staff have been told not to communicate with the media.
Workers are warned not to touch blood with their bare hands unless they have to, he said.
"We had a little bit of instruction on it four or five years ago but, basically, all we've got is what they call 'universal precautions' -- you know, wash your hands after handling this. I mean, it's standard stuff that everybody should be doing. We do have a few blood spill kits . . . but very little training in how to use them."
The kits are only used when there's a major blood spill, he said.
"Very few people know how to use it, or have ever used it before."
Health officials in most parts of the world consider needle exchange programs the most effective measure to keep hepatitis C in check. That's a sticky issue in the Saskatoon jail, where the source described inmates attacking guards with dirty syringes, or even shooting blood at them.
"We've had several incidents of that," he said.
Though prison officials say they have a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to drug abuse in correctional facilities, they admit both drugs and syringes find their way inside. Needles are used over and over again -- for drugs, tattoos and body piercing.
Ironically, inmates are instructed on the proper way to sterilize a needle -- but if anyone catches them doing it, the needle will be taken away and they'll have to go looking for another one.
"It gets very complicated very quickly," Derby admitted. "It's a tough
nut."