Perrett Stephanie E, Waite Thomas D
Public Health Wales, Cardiff, UK.
Int J Prison Health. 2019 Aug 29;15(3):244-249. doi: 10.1108/IJPH-03-2018-0010. Epub 2019 Feb 27.
Prison populations are considered at elevated risk of blood borne virus (BBV) transmission. Between December 2015 and February 2016, four new cases of HIV infection were diagnosed across two male vulnerable prisoner (VP) custodial units in Wales, UK. Cases were identified through routine BBV testing. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: As a result of identifying four new HIV cases, targeted BBV testing across the VP units using dried blood spot testing for HIV, Hepatitis C (HCV) and Hepatitis B was undertaken.
A total of 617 men were offered testing, 256 (41 per cent) were tested. No further cases of HIV were identified. Eight men were identified as HCV antibody positive. There was no evidence to suggest the four original cases of HIV were linked.
Embedding universal BBV screening within prison health provision will ensure timely identification of cases. Further research is needed to better understand BBV transmission risks within subsets of the prison population such as the VP and sex offending groups.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Little is known about the prevalence of BBVs in vulnerable prison populations. The findings add to the knowledge available for practitioners in the field.
监狱人群被认为存在血源性病毒（BBV）传播的高风险。2015年12月至2016年2月期间，英国威尔士的两个男性弱势囚犯（VP）羁押单位确诊了4例新的HIV感染病例。这些病例是通过常规BBV检测发现的。本文旨在讨论这些问题。
设计/方法/途径：由于发现了4例新的HIV病例，因此对VP单位进行了针对性的BBV检测，采用干血斑检测法检测HIV、丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）和乙型肝炎病毒。
共有617名男性接受了检测，其中256人（41%）进行了检测。未发现其他HIV病例。8名男性被确定为HCV抗体阳性。没有证据表明最初的4例HIV病例有关联。
将普遍的BBV筛查纳入监狱卫生服务将确保及时发现病例。需要进一步研究，以更好地了解监狱人群中的某些亚群体（如VP和性犯罪群体）的BBV传播风险。
原创性/价值：对于弱势监狱人群中BBV的流行情况知之甚少。这些研究结果增加了该领域从业者可获得的知识。
