relationship between frequency and duration of imprisonment and the prevalence of HBsAg, Anti HCV and HIV antibody seropositivity in Iranian prisoners

ABSTRACT

Imprisonment is an important issue in the area of contagious disease transmission. On the other hand, different risk factors are responsible for the transmission of hepatitis and HIV in prisoners, of which intravenous drug abuse is notable. Whether the frequency and the duration of imprisonment can affect the chance of transmission of these diseases is a question. This study tried to explore this issue in some prisons in central regions of Iran. This was an analytical, cross-sectional, descriptive study performed in 4 prisons during 1382. The prisoners were grouped according to the periodicity and duration of their imprisonment. Then, blood samples were obtained from selected prisoners and tested for HBsAg, Anti HCV, and HIV antibody. Data was then analyzed. 1431 male prisoners were studied. 51 [3.6%] subjects were HBsAg positive, 541 [37.8%] were Anti HCV positive, and 95 [6.6%] were positive for HIV antibody. The prevalence of positivity for HBsAg, AntiHCV and AntiHIV was higher in prisoners with more periodicity and/or longer duration of imprisonment. Regarding the prevalence of infection with these viruses, our results are similar to the results of previous studies in foreign countries. However, former studies had not evaluated the relationship between periodicity and duration of imprisoning and the risk of these infections. We recommend harder effort for preventing the transmission of these diseases in prisons, and consideration of strategies for decreasing the periodicity and duration of imprisonment