danielle
05-07-2003, 02:14 PM
One in Three Maryland Inmates Has HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis
Baltimore -
Nearly one in three inmates entering the Maryland prison system is infected with HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus, many of them with more than one infection, according to a survey released Tuesday by state health officials.
The survey was based on blood tests of 3,914 people entering the state penal system during a 60-day period in 2002.
The most prevalent infection in Maryland state prisons was hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can cause serious complications, including liver cancer, according to the report by the Maryland AIDS Administration.
Less than 2 percent of the U.S. population is infected with hepatitis C, while 29.7 percent of Maryland prisoners had it, said Liza Solomon, the agency's director.
The higher rate of disease among prisoners has major public health implications beyond prison walls, she said, because inmates eventually are released into the community, where they can spread the infections. Reaching undiagnosed inmates in prison is an important opportunity for the state to limit diseases.
Solomon said her agency's study is the first to show that prisoners often have several of the infections simultaneously. Such "co-infections" are harder to manage, and the symptoms are more severe, she said.
Inmates in Maryland are treated for syphilis and HIV, but the prisons do not routinely give hepatitis B vaccinations, which are effective, to inmates or staff members, Solomon said. The prisons offer no routine treatment of inmates with hepatitis C, for which there is no vaccine, she said.
Top officials at the Maryland Division of Correction were unavailable to discuss the study Tuesday, but spokesman Mark Vernarelli said they are reviewing it with an eye toward new medical policies.
"Health and treatment issues are a priority for this administration," he said. "Preventing the spread of communicable diseases among inmates is critical."
The study also concluded that women entering the Maryland prison system are far more likely than men to be infected with HIV, syphilis and hepatitis C, though not hepatitis B.
For the study, inmates were tested upon admission to a Baltimore detention center and a statewide receiving facility for inmates headed to state prisons.
Baltimore -
Nearly one in three inmates entering the Maryland prison system is infected with HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus, many of them with more than one infection, according to a survey released Tuesday by state health officials.
The survey was based on blood tests of 3,914 people entering the state penal system during a 60-day period in 2002.
The most prevalent infection in Maryland state prisons was hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can cause serious complications, including liver cancer, according to the report by the Maryland AIDS Administration.
Less than 2 percent of the U.S. population is infected with hepatitis C, while 29.7 percent of Maryland prisoners had it, said Liza Solomon, the agency's director.
The higher rate of disease among prisoners has major public health implications beyond prison walls, she said, because inmates eventually are released into the community, where they can spread the infections. Reaching undiagnosed inmates in prison is an important opportunity for the state to limit diseases.
Solomon said her agency's study is the first to show that prisoners often have several of the infections simultaneously. Such "co-infections" are harder to manage, and the symptoms are more severe, she said.
Inmates in Maryland are treated for syphilis and HIV, but the prisons do not routinely give hepatitis B vaccinations, which are effective, to inmates or staff members, Solomon said. The prisons offer no routine treatment of inmates with hepatitis C, for which there is no vaccine, she said.
Top officials at the Maryland Division of Correction were unavailable to discuss the study Tuesday, but spokesman Mark Vernarelli said they are reviewing it with an eye toward new medical policies.
"Health and treatment issues are a priority for this administration," he said. "Preventing the spread of communicable diseases among inmates is critical."
The study also concluded that women entering the Maryland prison system are far more likely than men to be infected with HIV, syphilis and hepatitis C, though not hepatitis B.
For the study, inmates were tested upon admission to a Baltimore detention center and a statewide receiving facility for inmates headed to state prisons.