Abstract
BackgroundThe prison population is considered at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases due to confined conditions, behavioral factors, injection drug use, unprotected sexual activity, non-professional tattooing and scarification, and needle sharing. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood borne pathogen mostly transmitted via percutaneous exposure that results in inflammation of the liver. It is one of the public health problem worldwide and is the principal cause of parenterally transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis. The study was aimed at evaluating the prevalence of HCV among prison inmates in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria and the associated factors.MethodsThe study took a descriptive cross sectional approach using multi-stage sampling technique. One hundred and forty-two (142) prison inmates within the age range of 18–50 years and above were recruited for this study.ResultForty two (42); [29.6%] of the participating prison inmates were seropositive for HCV. Gender stratification showed that 31.0% of the males were seropositive for HCV while 15.4% of the females were seropositive for HCV. Fisher exact test showed that gender, age, marital status, occupation and level of education had no association in distribution of seroprevalence of HCV (p > 0.05) but the duration in prison was significantly associated with distribution of seropositivity of HCV in the studied population (p < 0.05). Bivariate logistic regression showed that tattoo/scarification, injection drug use, history of blood transfusion, sexual experience, shaving equipment sharing and multiple sexual partners were not risk factor for distribution of HCV prevalence in the studied population (p > 0.05). However, 23.5% who had tattoo/scarification, 29.6% who used injection drug, 33.3% who had history of blood transfusion, 29.8% who had sexual experience, 21.2% who shared shaving equipment, and 28.3% who had multiple sex partners were seropositive for HCV.ConclusionApproximately 29.6% prevalence of Hepatitis C virus infection observed among inmates studied is high and calls for concern. Attitude and behaviors by inmates such as tattooing/scarification, injection drugs use, sharing of shaving equipment, multiple sexual partners should be discouraged.
Highlights
The prison population is considered at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases due to confined conditions, behavioral factors, injection drug use, unprotected sexual activity, non-professional tattooing and scarification, and needle sharing
Approximately 29.6% prevalence of Hepatitis C virus infection observed among inmates studied is high and calls for concern
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood borne pathogen mostly transmitted via percutaneous exposure [1] that results in inflammation of the liver and is linked to a variety of adverse health outcomes including hepatocellular cancer and cirrhosis [2, 3]
Summary
The prison population is considered at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases due to confined conditions, behavioral factors, injection drug use, unprotected sexual activity, non-professional tattooing and scarification, and needle sharing. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood borne pathogen mostly transmitted via percutaneous exposure [1] that results in inflammation of the liver and is linked to a variety of adverse health outcomes including hepatocellular cancer and cirrhosis [2, 3] The United Nations basic principles for the treatment of prisoners state that “Prisoners shall have access to health services available in the country without discrimination on the grounds of their legal situation” [11]. In practice, this basic principle is scarcely applied in real life and prisoners in most countries have lesser possibility of medical assistance than the non-incarcerated citizens [12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
