PRISONS SEE SURGE IN CASES OF HEPATITIS C

PITTSBURGH (--) When Charles White was sentenced to prison in Oregon for
robbery five years ago, he knew nothing about hepatitis C. It was only
after his release in December that he found out he was infected with the
blood-borne virus. A prison doctor had told him he had high liver enzymes
(--) a telltale symptom of the sometimes fatal condition (--) and cautioned
him against taking aspirin or drinking coffee. Nothing more.

"I asked him, 'What does that mean?'" White said. "He didn't answer my
questions, he didn't tell me about hepatitis C, he didn't counsel me."

Inmate advocates say White's experience is common in America's prisons,
where a staggeringly high 18 percent of inmates are infected, compared with
1.6 percent of the overall population, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. That translates into about 360,000 out of the
nation's 2 million inmates.

Hepatitis C is spread by intravenous drug use and, in rare instances,
transfusions or sex. It can cause jaundice, fatigue, pain and vomiting and
gradually affects the liver, leading to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

About 4 million Americans are infected and about 8,000 people die of the
disease each year.

Hepatitis C drugs can cost $12,000 to $14,000 per person per year and often
induce side effects ranging from intense flu-like symptoms to severe
suicidal thoughts.

Corrections officials now meet monthly to debate strategies to fight
hepatitis C with state legislators, health officials and inmate advocates,
like White, who runs an HIV/AIDS Awareness Project.

More states are educating their inmates about the virus and considering
broader testing because of the public health risk and the threat of
class-action lawsuits by infected inmates.