Hepatitis C virus infection and its associated factors among prisoners in a Nigerian prison

Abstract

Background The prison population is considered at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases due to confined conditions, behavioral factors, injection drug use, unprotected sexual activity, non-professional tattooing and scarification, and needle sharing. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood borne pathogen mostly transmitted via percutaneous exposure that results in inflammation of the liver. It is one of the public health problem worldwide and is the principal cause of parenterally transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis. The study was aimed at evaluating the prevalence of HCV among prison inmates in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria and the associated factors. Methods The study took a descriptive cross sectional approach using multi-stage sampling technique. One hundred and forty-two (142) prison inmates within the age range of 18–50 years and above were recruited for this study. Result Forty two (42); [29.6%] of the participating prison inmates were seropositive for HCV. Gender stratification showed that 31.0% of the males were seropositive for HCV while 15.4% of the females were seropositive for HCV. Fisher exact test showed that gender, age, marital status, occupation and level of education had no association in distribution of seroprevalence of HCV (p > 0.05) but the duration in prison was significantly associated with distribution of seropositivity of HCV in the studied population (p < 0.05). Bivariate logistic regression showed that tattoo/scarification, injection drug use, history of blood transfusion, sexual experience, shaving equipment sharing and multiple sexual partners were not risk factor for distribution of HCV prevalence in the studied population (p > 0.05). However, 23.5% who had tattoo/scarification, 29.6% who used injection drug, 33.3% who had history of blood transfusion, 29.8% who had sexual experience, 21.2% who shared shaving equipment, and 28.3% who had multiple sex partners were seropositive for HCV. Conclusion Approximately 29.6% prevalence of Hepatitis C virus infection observed among inmates studied is high and calls for concern. Attitude and behaviors by inmates such as tattooing/scarification, injection drugs use, sharing of shaving equipment, multiple sexual partners should be discouraged.

Pangenotypic Hepatitis C Therapy with Direct Acting Antivirals: A Southern Nigeria Pilot Experience

“…There were however no reports of treatment discontinuation following this observed adverse events. In our study, there were more males 79 (52.7%) than females 71 (47.3%) and this same pattern of a higher male population has been reported by other Nigerian investigators [25][26][27]. We also observed that a majority of our study population were young to middle-aged patients and this may reflect the tendency for "at risk" behaviors commoner to these population.…”

Retracted: Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and associated risk behaviors in prisoners: A systematic review

“…In one systematic review of 23 articles, shared contaminated needles for IV drug use was reported as one of the principal hepatitis transmission routes among prisoners 59 . In another study carried out in Nigeria, 29.6% of inmates who used injection drugs were HCV positive 39 . Similarly, one large study among 1336 inmates in Ghana, indicated intravenous drug use, history of sharing syringes and drug paraphernalia, as independent determinants for HIV, HBV, and syphilis 60 .…”

“…Prisoners with no history of institutional education (illiterate) were mentioned by nine articles, and the rate of complete illiteracy among participants ranged from 1.5% to 30.9%. 3 , 14 , 16 , 18 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 39 , 43 In addition, eight articles reported that their sample participants had only completed high school education, with a percentage ranging from 9.32% to 60%. 3 , 15 , 16 , 19 , 24 , 26 , 31 , 34 , 44 Finally, only eight studies reported higher educational levels among their participants, and reported university/college education from a low of 2.5% to a peak of 16.7%.…”

“…59 In another study carried out in Nigeria, 29.6% of inmates who used injection drugs were HCV positive. 39 Similarly, one large study among 1336 inmates in Ghana, indicated intravenous drug use, history of sharing syringes and drug paraphernalia, as independent determinants for HIV, HBV, and syphilis. 60 Another large study among inmates in Italy, found that 30.4% of sample population were intravenous drug users, and it was strongly associated with HCV, and HIV infection.…”

Prevalence and Correlates of Kaposi`S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus and Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infections Among Adults: Evidence from the NHANES III Data

“…HSV-2 infection is known to recruit at the site of replication white blood cells including B and CD8 lymphocyte that can be infected by KSHV. In addition, reactivation of HSV-2 might increase the load at mucosal and systemic levels of other viruses including KSHV, HIV [26] , and HCV [27] . Viral shedding and transmission to sex partners can occur in the absence of symptoms or a noticeable lesion [28] .…”