BMJ 1994;309:876 (1 October)

Letters

Hepatitis C and injecting drug use in prisons

EDITOR, - The debate about the risk of HIV transmission among injecting drug users in prison has completely overshadowed any discussion of the parallel threat of hepatitis C. In 1992 there were estimated to be 12 550 addicts in British prisons.1 The recent outbreak of hepatitis B and HIV in a Scottish jail has clearly shown that high risk behaviours are widespread in prisons and young offenders' institutions.2

Tests for antibodies to hepatitis C virus have become available more recently than those for antibodies to hepatitis B virus and HIV. The prevalence of hepatitis C among populations of injecting drug users around the world has already been shown to be high, ranging from 57% to 86%.3

We measured antibody to hepatitis C virus in 157 injecting drug users in Mid Glamorgan whose history of imprisonment was known. Of those with a history of imprisonment, 34 out of 74 (46%) had . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Prison: shield from threat, or threat to survival?
M Ross, A B Grossman, S Murdoch, R Rundey, J Golding, S Purchase, T Munyard, M Scoot, and A Bridger
BMJ 1994 308: 1092-95. [Extract] [Full Text]

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