HIGH AIDS RATES SEEN IN U.S. PRISONS

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Prison inmates are five to 10 times more likely
than non-inmates to have AIDS or the virus that causes it, and
recently released prisoners account for one-sixth of the nation's AIDS
cases, researchers said Tuesday.

The first comprehensive effort to estimate the prevalence of AIDS and
HIV among the nation's nearly two million inmates found that there
were approximately 8,900 inmates with AIDS in 1997. That rate is five
times higher than the nation at large.

Research presented at the first-ever National HIV Prevention
Conference organized by the Centers for the Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) also found high levels of sexually transmitted
disease among inmates.

``AIDS prevalence was 5 times higher than the total population. HIV
prevalence was between 8 and 10 times higher,'' said Theodore Hammett
of Abt Associates, which conducted the study for the private National
Commission on Correctional Health Care.

The study estimated that 39,000 people, or approximately 17 percent of
the 229,000 people with AIDS in 1996, had been released from a
correctional facility that year. The percentages were even higher for
HIV infection, hepatitis C and tuberculosis.

``Virtually all inmates return to the community and many of them
return with HIV, AIDS and other infectious diseases,'' Hammett said.

``This means that correctional facilities are critical settings for
prevention and treatment interventions for infectious disease,'' he
said.

A separate study conducted by the CDC also found high rates of
syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia among inmates, particularly women,
entering corrections facilities at 14 cities and counties across the
country.

The percentage of women entering jails who tested positive for
syphilis ranged from 3 to 22 percent. Among men, the figure ranged
from 1 to 9 percent, said Kristen Mertz, a medical epidemiologist in
the CDC's sexually transmitted disease division.

In juvenile detention facilities, 9 to 17 percent of girls and 3 to 10
percent of boys tested positive for chlamydia, she said.

Researchers said prisons offer a unique opportunity to prevent AIDS
and other sexually transmitted diseases.

``Because many inmates are released back into the community within a
few days, testing and treating persons entering jails and juvenile
detention facilities may reduce transmission in the community,'' Mertz
said.

A survey conducted for the CDC in 1996 and 1997 found that only 10
percent of state and federal prison systems and only 5 percent of city
and county jail systems offered comprehensive HIV prevention programs
for inmates.

About two-thirds of correctional facilities offered some form of AIDS
education, but few offered peer-led programs, instructor education,
multi-session counseling and pre- and post-test counseling, Hammett
said.