[Prevalence of HBV and HCV infections and incidence of HCV infection after 3, 6 and 12 months detention in La Santé prison, Paris].

The concentration of a marginal population (35% drug addicts) in prisons necessitates systematic and rigorous screening for hepatitis B and hepatitis C in subjects at risk. In June 1998, a screening program was initiated to determine the prevalence of HBV and HBC infections in prisoners and to determine the incidence after 3, 6 and 12 months detention. The screening program was proposed to 900 prisoners in a Paris prison (Maison d'arrêt de Paris-La Santé) from June 3 to November 10, 1998. The program included hepatitis B and hepatitis C serology at incarceration. For prisoners who were seronegative for HCV at incarceration, a new HCV serology was proposed after 3, 6 and 12 months detention. It was postulated that HCV contamination could occur during incarceration (syringe sharing, tattooing). After one year of incarceration, no seroconversions for HCV were observed among the prisoners participating in this study. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the particular detention conditions at the prison involved, raising important methodology interrogations concerning this type of survey.