HEPATITIS EPIDEMIC IN PRISONS COULD SPREAD TO PUBLIC

CALGARY -- Failing to address the rampant spread of hepatitis in
penitentiaries could have dire implications for the public at large,
says the federal prison ombudsman.

"People are leaving prison sicker than when they came in," Howard
Sapers told the John Howard Society. "The reality is, if drug use [in
prison] continues, there is a mounting public-health risk."

The Correctional Service of Canada estimates up to 30 per cent of the
12,500 inmates in the federal system are infected with hepatitis C,
which can be spread by sharing needles or having unprotected sex.

Sapers said staff at some prisons have estimated up to 60 per cent of
inmates have hepatitis, and that the rate of HIV infection is
generally 10 times higher in prison.

He has urged the government for months to give inmates access to clean
needles.