PRISONS 'FAILING TO STEM HEPATITIS C'

The refusal of prison authorities to tackle the high rate of
hepatitis C infection among inmates has led to the rampant spread of
the disease in Australian prisons, an expert said.

Dr Kate Dolan, from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre,
said hepatitis C infection had reached epidemic levels in NSW
prisons, with about one-third of male and two-thirds of female
inmates infected.

In this month's edition of The Medical Journal of Australia, Dr
Dolan, a senior lecturer at the University of NSW, blamed drug
injection and tattooing for the spread of the infection.

With about a quarter of prisoners injecting drugs in jail, often with
used needles, Dr Dolan said the introduction of a prison-based
methadone treatment program and lighter sentences for offenders
caught using non-injectable drugs would help combat the problem.

Allowing selected inmates to be trained in infection control
procedures and provided with autoclaves and single-use ampoules of
ink might also help control the spread of the disease.

A spokesman for the Department of Corrective Services said there were
a number of education programs in NSW prisons informing inmates of
ways to avoid contracting HIV and hepatitis C and how to manage the
diseases.