Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Hepatitis C and B prevalence in Spanish prisons

  • Article
  • Published:
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose The Prevalhep study seeks to determine the prevalence of factors associated with the hepatitis C (HCV) and B (HBV) virus in Spanish prisoners. Methods This was an observational, cross-sectional study which randomly selected 18 Spanish prisons to participate, with 21 prisoners per centre. Results There were 378 prisoners selected, 370 of whom had serological HCV and 342 had HBV data. The HCV population was predominantly male (91.6%), middle age (66.7% ≤ 40 years of age), of Spanish origin (60.5%), with a history of injection drug use (IDU; 23.2%), in prison <5 years (71.2%) and having entered prison after 2006 (51.9%). The prevalence of HCV was 22.7% (n = 84; 95% CI, 18.3–27.1) and HBV was 2.6% (n = 9; 95% CI, 0.2–4.9%). Of the patients with HCV, 40.5% were co-infected with HIV, 0.3% co-infected with HBV, and 1.5% with triple virus co-infection (HBV + HCV + HIV). The three markers of HB had been measured in 99 inmates: 32.1% had post-vaccination immunity (antiHBS+) and 30.4% contact status with HBV (HBcAb + and/or HBsAg+), while 37.5% were susceptible to HB. Conclusions The prevalence of HBV and HCV has decreased in the Spanish prison population, probably as a result of decrease in IDU transmission, and an increase in immigrant prisoner population that does not have this risk behaviour.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Fox RK, Currie SL, Evans J, Wright TL, Tobler L, Phelps B et al (2005) Hepatitis C virus infection among prisoners in the California state correctional system. Clin Infect Dis 41:177–186

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Vescio MF, Longo B, Babudieri S, Starnini G, Carbonara S, Rezza G et al (2008) Correlates of hepatitis C virus seropositivity in prison inmates: a meta-analysis. J Epidemiol Community Health 62:305–313

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Weild AR, Gill ON, Bennett D, Livingstone SJ, Parry JV, Curran L (2000) Prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C antibodies in prisoners in England and Wales: a national survey. Commun Dis Public Health 3:121–126

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Allwright S, Bradley F, Long J, Barry J, Thornton L, Parry JV (2000) Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV risk factors in Irish prisoners: results of a national cross sectional survey. BMJ 32:78–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Ford PM, White C, Kaufmann H, MacTavish J, Pearson M, Ford S et al (1995) Voluntary anonymous linked study of the prevalence of HIV infection and hepatitis C among inmates in a Canadian federal penitentiary for women. CMAJ 153:1605–1609

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Guimaraes T, Granato CF, Varella D, Ferraz ML, Castelo A, Kallas EG (2001) High prevalence of hepatitis C infection in a Brazilian prison: identification of risk factors for infection. Braz J Infect Dis 5:111–118

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hennessey KA, Kim AA, Griffin V, Collins NT, Weinbaum CM, Sabin K (2009) Prevalence of infection with hepatitis B and C viruses and co-infection with HIV in three jails: a case for viral hepatitis prevention in jails in the United States. J Urban Health 86:93–105

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Babudieri S, Longo B, Sarmati L, Starnini G, Dori L, Suligoi B et al (2005) Correlates of HIV, HBV, and HCV infections in a prison inmate population: results from a multicentre study in Italy. J Med Virol 76(3):311–317

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Adjei AA, Armah HB, Gbagbo F, Ampofo WK, Boamah I, Adu-Gyamfi C et al (2008) Correlates of HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis infections among prison inmates and officers in Ghana: a national multicenter study. BMC Infect Dis 8:33

    Google Scholar 

  10. Grupo del Noroeste para el estudio de la Hepatitis por Virus C en el medio penitenciario (1998) Seroprevalencia de infección por virus C de la hepatitis en población reclusa del noroeste de españa a su ingreso en prisión. Rev Esp Salud Pública 72:43–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Añón C, Del Olmo JA, Llovet F, Serra MA, Gilabert S, Rodríguez F et al (1995) Virus C de la hepatitis entre población penitenciaria de Valencia. Rev Esp Enferm Dig 87:505–508

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Pallás JR, Farinas-Álvarez C, Prieto D, Delgado-Rodríguez M (1999) Coinfections by HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C in imprisoned injecting drug users. Eur Epidemiol 15:699–704

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. de la Hoya PS, Bedia M, Murcia J, Cebriá J, Sánchez-Payá J, Portilla J (2005) Predictive markers of HIV and HCV infection and co-infection among inmates in a Spanish prison. Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clín 23:53–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Memoria (1998) Plan Nacional sobre drogas. Otras actividades desarrolladas en el marco del Ministerio del Interior. Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan Nacional sobre Drogas. Ministerio de Interior, pp 58–66. http://www.pnsd.msc.es/Categoria2/publica/pdf/memo98.pdf. Accessed 15 March 2009

  15. Marco A, Guerrero RA, Rodríguez AM, Escribano M, Humet V, Mercadé E et al (1995) Characteristics of AIDS cases detected at a prison in Barcelona (1991-1993). Aten Prim 15:487–490

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Portilla J, Esteban J, Llinares R, Belda J, Sánchez-Payá J, Isabel Manso M et al (2001) Prevalence of chronic hidden infections in a cohort of patients in substitutive treatment with methadone. Med Clin (Barc) 116:330–332

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Springer SA, Pesanti E, Hodges J, Macura T, Doros G, Altce FL (2004) Effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected prisoners. Clin Infect Dis 38:1764–1760

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. García-Villanueva M, Huarte J, de la Hoz FK (2006) Seven years of the needle exchange program in the prison centre in Pamplona (Spain). Rev Esp Sanid Penit 8:34–40. www.resp.es. Accessed 17 January 2011

    Google Scholar 

  19. Saiz de la Hoya P, Ortega E, Alia C, et al (2004) Infección VIH y VHC. Protocolos de coordinación entre servicios sanitarios penitenciarios y hospitales de referencia. Madrid, SCM. http://www.sesp.es/publicaciones.htm. Accessed 17 January 2011

  20. de la Hoya-Zamácola SP, Marco-Mouriño A, Clemente-Ricote G, Portilla-Sogorb J, Boix-Martínez V, Núñez-Martínez O et al (2006) Expert recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection in the prison setting. Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clín 24:568–575

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Martin V, Marco A, de la HP Saiz (2005) Como combatir la hepatitis C en las cárceles. Gastroenterol Hepatol 28(Suppl 3):37–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Moreno S, Vera-Remartínez E, García-Guerrero J, Planelles Ramos MV (2008) Consumo de drogas al ingreso en prisión: comparación entre población española y extranjera. Rev Esp Sanid Penit 10:41–48. www.resp.es. Accessed 17 January 2011

    Google Scholar 

  23. Toro C, Jiménez V, Rodríguez C, Del Romero J, Rodés B, Holguín A et al (2006) Molecular and epidemiological characteristics of blood-borne virus infections among recent immigrants in Spain. J Med Virol 78:1500–1508

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Ramos JM, Pastor C, Masia MM, Cascales E, Royo G, Gutierrez-Rodero F (2003) Health in the immigrant population: prevalence of latent tuberculosis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human immunodeficiency virus and syphilis infection. Enferm Infec Microbiol Clin 21:540–542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Sola R, Cruz de Castro E, Hombrados M, Planas R, Coll S, Jardí R et al (2002) Prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses in different counties of Catalonia, Spain: cross-sectional study. Med Clín (Barc) 119:90–95

    Google Scholar 

  26. Shakil AO, Conry-Cantilena C, Alter HJ, Hayashi P, Kleiner DE, Tedeschi V et al (1995) Volunteer blood donors with antibody to hepatitis C virus: clinical, biochemical, virologic, and histologic features. The Hepatitis C Study Group. Ann Intern Med 123:330–337

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Vogt M, Lang T, Frösner G, Klingler C, Sendl AF, Zeller A et al (1999) Prevalence and clinical outcome of hepatitis C infection in children who underwent cardiac surgery before the implementation of blood-donor screening. N Engl J Med 341:866–870

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Portilla J, López Burgos A, Saiz de la Hoya-Zamácola P, Sánchez-Payá J, Bedía-Collantes M, Faraco-Atienzar I, Lissen E (2009) Utility of biochemical models predictive of liver fibrosis grade in inmates with hepatitis C. Gastroenterol Hepatol 32:387–394

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Murcia J, Portilla J, Bedia M, Palazón JM, Sánchez-Payá J, Saiz de la Hoya P et al (2009) Chronic hepatitis C virus infection and associated liver disease among the inmates of a Spanish prison. Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clín 27:206–212

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Marco A (2006) Incidencia de la hepatitis crónica por VHC y necesidad de tratamiento en los internados en prisión. Rev Esp Sanid Penit 8:71–77. www.resp.es. Accessed 17 January 2011

    Google Scholar 

  31. Backmund M, Meyer K, Edlin BR (2004) Infrequent reinfection after successful treatment for hepatitis C virus infection in injection drug users. Clin Infect Dis 39:1540–1543

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Grebely J, Conway B, Raffa JD, Lai C, Krajden M, Tyndall MW (2006) Hepatitis C virus re-infection in injection drug users. Hepatology 44:1139–1145

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Bayas JM (2002) Vacunas para la población penitenciaria Editorial. Rev Esp Sanid Penit 4:39–42. www.resp.es. Accessed 17 January 2011

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. José Sánchez Paya and Dr. Joaquín Portilla for the statistical analyses and advice in preparing the manuscript.

Competing interests

None of the authors has any involvement that can be construed as a conflict of interest. Adolfo Rivera is an employee of Schering-Plough S.A. and provided logistics support throughout the study.

Funding source

The study was funded, in part, by an unrestricted research grant from Schering-Plough S.A. (Madrid). The corresponding author had full control of data acquisition, analyses and interpretation, and the decision to publish.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Servicios Médicos, Centro Penitenciario Fontcalent, 03113, Alicante, Spain

    P. Saiz de la Hoya

  2. Servicios Médicos, Centro Penitenciario Barcelona, C/ Entenza 155, 08029, Barcelona, Spain

    A. Marco

  3. Servicios Médicos, Centro Penitenciario Castellon, Crta Alcora Km 10, 12071, Castellón, Spain

    J. García-Guerrero

  4. Medical Department , Schering-Plough, C/ Cantabria 2, Edificio Amura, 28108, Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain

    A. Rivera

Authors
  1. P. Saiz de la Hoya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. Marco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. García-Guerrero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A. Rivera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Consortia

on behalf of the Prevalhep study group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. Saiz de la Hoya.

Additional information

The article was written on behalf of the Prevalhep study group (see Appendix for full membership list).

Appendix

Appendix

Principal investigators of the Prevalhep study (and their affiliations):

Pablo Saiz de la Hoya; CP Fontcalent, Alicante

Andrés Marco; CP Barcelona

Julio García-Guerrero; CP Castellon

Adolfo Rivera; Schering-Plough, Madrid

Miguel Bedia; CP Fontcalent, Alicante

José Manuel Castro; CP Huelva

Inmaculada Faraco; CP Sevilla

Carmen Hoyos; CP Cáceres

María Dolores Isaach; CP Picasent, Valencia

José De Juan; CP Córdoba

Gerardo López-Palacios; CP El Dueso, Cantabria

Antonio Mallo; CP León

Juan Martínez-Pérez; CP Almería

Remedios Moreno; CP Madrid II

Ramón Planella; CP Ponent, Lleida

Edelmira Pozo; CP Villabona, Asturias

José Quiñonero; CP Murcia

Fabio Sternberg; CP Madrid VI

Nuria Teixido; CP Brians 1 (Barcelona)

Luis Vasallo; CP Topas, Salamanca

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Saiz de la Hoya, P., Marco, A., García-Guerrero, J. et al. Hepatitis C and B prevalence in Spanish prisons. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 30, 857–862 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-011-1166-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-011-1166-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation