Safe release of prisoners could reduce community transmission

Background: Limited empirical evidence exists for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment-asprevention. The Surveillance and Treatment of Prisoners with hepatitis C (SToP-C) study assessed HCV treatment-as-prevention in four Australian prisons.Methods: SToP-C is a non-randomised trial, including a pre/post analysis within a prospective longitudinal cohort of people incarcerated in two maximum-(male) and two medium-security prisons (one male, one female). All prison inmates at least 18 years were eligible for enrolment.Participants were enrolled from late-2014 to 2019. Following HCV testing, participants were monitored for risk behaviors and HCV, among three sub-populations: 1) uninfected (HCV antibody negative); 2) previously infected (HCV antibody positive, HCV RNA negative); 3) infected (HCV antibody and HCV RNA positive). Uninfected and previously infected (at-risk) participants were followed every 3-6 months for HCV primary infection and re-infection, respectively. Infected participants were assessed for treatment, initially standard of care treatment (by prison health services), followed by direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment scale-up from mid-2017 (12 weeks sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, through SToP-C). Participants were followed until study closure in November 2019. The primary study outcome was HCV incidence compared between pre-and post-treatment scale-up periods among participants at risk of HCV primary infection or re-infection. The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT02064049) Findings: Of 3,691 participants enrolled, 719 (19%) had detectable HCV RNA and 2,965 were at-risk of primary infection (n=2,240) or re-infection (n=725) at baseline. DAA treatment was initiated in 349/499 eligible participants during the treatment scale-up period. Among at-risk population with longitudinal follow-up (n=1,643; median age 33 years; 82% male), 31% reported injecting drug use in prison. HCV incidence declined by 48%, from 8.31 to 4.35/100 person-years between pre-and post-treatment scale-up periods [Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR): 4 0.52, 95%CI: 0.36, 0.78]. Incidence of primary infection declined from 6.64 to 2.85/100 personyears (IRR: 0.43, 95%CI: 0.25, 0.74), while incidence of re-infection declined from 12.36 to 7.27/100 person-years (IRR: 0.59, 95%CI: 0.35, 1.00). Among participants reporting injecting drug use in the current imprisonment, incidence of primary infection declined from 39.08 to 14.03/100 person-years (IRR: 0.36, 95%CI: 0.16, 0.80), and incidence of re-infection declined from 15.26 to 9.34/100 person-years (IRR: 0.61, 95%CI: 0.34, 1.09). Adjusted analysis indicated a significant reduction in HCV risk between pre-and post-treatment scale-up periods (adjusted Hazard Ratio: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.33, 0.76).Interpretation: DAA treatment scale-up was associated with reduced HCV incidence in prison, indicative of HCV treatment-as-prevention. The findings support broad DAA treatment scale-up among incarcerated populations.

IntroductionMore than 30 million adults are released from incarceration globally each year. Many experience complex physical and mental health problems, and are at markedly increased risk of preventable mortality. Despite this, evidence regarding the global epidemiology of mortality following release from incarceration is insufficient to inform the development of targeted, evidence-based responses. Many previous studies have suffered from inadequate power and poor precision, and even large studies have limited capacity to disaggregate data by specific causes of death, sub-populations or time since release to answer questions of clinical and public health relevance.   ObjectivesTo comprehensively document the incidence, timing, causes and risk factors for mortality in adults released from prison. MethodsWe created the Mortality After Release from Incarceration Consortium (MARIC), a multi-disciplinary collaboration representing 29 cohorts of adults who have experienced incarceration from 11 countries. Findings across cohorts will be analysed using a two-step, individual participant data meta-analysis methodology. ResultsThe combined sample includes 1,337,993 individuals (89% male), with 75,795 deaths recorded over 9,191,393 person-years of follow-up. ConclusionsThe consortium represents an important advancement in the field, bringing international attention to this problem. It will provide internationally relevant evidence to guide policymakers and clinicians in reducing preventable deaths in this marginalized population. Key wordsMortality; incarceration; prison; release; individual participant data meta-analysis; consortium; cohort.  

Vaccination is essential for this vulnerable group, and the civil society around them

Many papers have been written on the process of coming out by individuals with predominantly same-sex sexual orientation but few of these papers have explored the concept of how people negotiate the idea of coming out in prison. We conducted indepth interviews with 13 prisoners and one ex-prisoner in New South Wales, Australia, who self-identified as gay, homosexual or bisexual men. Data was collected and analysed using an inductive or grounded theory framework since very little was known on the sexual behaviours and identities of Australian prisoners prior to the study and elsewhere. We examined and discussed the lived experiences of prisoners whose disclosure stories were seen to fall under four thematic categories: 'coming out', 'forced out', 'going back in' and 'staying out of the closet' on entering prison. Respondents were required continuously and contextually to manage their sexual identities and disclosure to different audiences while incarcerated. Findings suggest that the prison environment and its attendant heteronormative values and hypermasculine culture, apply significant pressure on gay and bisexual men on how to manage their sexual identities and disclose their sexuality in prison.