Claim: Releasing inmates, screening staff: U.S. jails and prisons rush to limit virus risks.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: the spread of diseases and also provided inmates with medical attention. In Wayne County Jail Inmates v. Lucas, courts mandated that prisoners have the right to access drug detoxification and treatment for drug dependency. This has helped many inmates quarantine the disease by preventing the sharing of needles. Major programs and policies are being initiated within each state. In New York, the Hepatitis C Continuity Program was the first of its kind to remove limits on healthcare access if a prisoner spent a limited time in jail. Prisoners now have access to HCV antiviral treatment from the moment of incarceration

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: Philadelphia, and Washington County Jails have provided condoms to inmates. Others have argued against providing condoms because officials feel it condones sexual activity, which is illegal within the prison system. Imprisonment as a response to US drug use has created a "de facto" policy of jailing more HIV-infected individuals. High-risk behavior that persists within prisons poses harm to inmates and the greater community alike, but US courts have chosen to remain silent. Separating infected individuals from the rest of the prison population has been seen as ineffective because not all infected individuals have been properly tested. That, therefore, promotes high-risk

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: crimes. Because there is a high-volume turnover rate of inmates in the jail system, some inmates who are tested for HIV, HCV or other STDs may have been released before receiving their results. Correctional facilities should assure that all cases of newly diagnosed infectious diseases are reported to the state or local health department for assistance with notification of results, counseling, partner services and linkage to care. The CDC advocates a syndemic approach to intervene in the transmission of HIV, HCV and other STDs. This approach includes "combining services to minimize missed opportunities" to detect disease. This approach calls for

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: within prisons is a concern because they pose a potential public health risk. When prisoners are released, they may continue the same behaviors, thereby increasing the chances of the disease spreading to outside communities. The "Western Journal of Medicine" estimates the prevalence and predictors of HCV infection among inmates of California by conducting a system wide survey. Findings concluded that HCV infection appears most common in men and women entering prison, displaying prevalence of anti-HCV positive highest among white males and Latina women. Limited testing for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in three North Carolina jails have shown a prevalence rate

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: used individually or in combination with other approaches. One alternative approach could include risk-based criteria screening. The CDC recommends that jails routinely offer HIV testing to inmates who fall under one or more of the following criteria: The limitation with this screening approach is that risks are self-reported by the inmate. One study suggested that up to 42% of inmates diagnosed with HIV reported no risk factors. A second alternative approach is clinical screening based on HCV, HBV or STD infection. The presence of any of these diseases increases the likelihood of acquiring or transmitting HIV disease. Clinical criteria for

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: for a health department or community-based organization case manager is available to help them navigate the healthcare system. Several studies indicate that follow-up care for HIV positive women may correlate with a reduction in recidivism. Correctional facilities should have the following CDC recommended procedures and resources in place for inmates being discharged from custody: The high rate of turnover in local jails as opposed to prisons may make it difficult to implement a routine testing program at intake or on a scheduled basis. In cases where testing all incoming inmates is not possible, there are alternative approaches that can be

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: disease testing at the jail level. Jails are largely used to hold offenders who have been charged but not convicted of a crime. Local jails admitted an estimated 11.7 million persons during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2013. The average weekly turnover rate was 60.2 percent. Implementing HIV, HCV and other STD screening programs at the jail level is an effective way to detect disease before an infected individual is released back to the community and is able to transmit disease. At least 17% of people living with HIV/AIDS have been incarcerated at some point in their life. The

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: otherwise mentally unstable. While medical evaluations typically occur within 10 days of detention, some inmates may have been released and thus, won't get tested. While the majority of HCV infections occur outside of prison, the disease is still widespread within the prison system as a result of drug injection. According to one Rhode Island prison study, HCV infection was found in 23.1% of the male prison population. HCV prevention proved to be more challenging than HIV prevention because inmates partake in high-risk behaviors such as "front loading" and sharing spoons to prepare drugs like cocaine. The prevalence of these diseases

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: to even post-incarceration treatment. It was first issued measure in New York involving a coalition between different sectors to provide aid for prisoners even after release. Other guidelines included collaborating with the local healthcare systems that prisoners may potentially be released to after serving their terms. Serious public health outbreaks like the spread of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus have prompted drastic measures leading to medical isolation. Proponents of this guideline seek to establish this measure throughout all U.S. Prisons. However, ethical issues have arisen as opponents question the segregation and labeling of individuals based on their health condition. Approaches to preventing

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: public health concerns and issues they raise. The implementation of HIV and STD screening programs in the correctional setting is an important approach to reducing the annual number of new HIV infections in the United States. The correctional system in America is a patchwork of a wide variety of settings such as state and federal prisons, local jails, juvenile detention centers and they include the legal constraints of state laws. One process for HIV testing would be unlikely or even impossible in all correctional settings. There is an inherent difference in the jail versus the prison setting that merits infectious

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: inmates are referred to facilities based on release and type of treatment required. Facilities use the inmates' HCV testing history, genotype, HCV treatment, HIV status and, if HIV infected, most recent CD4/T-Helper cell count and viral load and discharge information to determine the most suitable treatment. Infectious diseases within American prisons Infectious diseases within American correctional settings are a concern within the public health sector. The corrections population is susceptible to infectious diseases through exposure to blood and other bodily fluids, drug injection, poor health care, prison overcrowding, demographics, security issues, lack of community support for rehabilitation programs, and high-risk

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: the infection. Privacy in a correctional setting is difficult, but the inmate should be assured that his medical information is confidential. The following are CDC recommended procedures for inmate support: Linking inmates to HIV care services when they are quickly released back to the community from a local jail can be difficult. Often they can be more concerned with finding a place to live or finding money to pay their legal fees. But upon giving an inmate a diagnosis of HIV, steps should be taken immediately to ensure that an appointment has been made with a provider, that contact information

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: Drug Assistance Program to help pay for HIV medication for incarcerated persons in county jails (state and federal prisons are not eligible). In order to qualify, county detention centers must complete an application for funds that includes the jail health budget to show need. Additionally, Duke University and UNC-Memorial Hospitals have collaborated with one jail's HCV positive inmates for further follow-up testing and care. The World Health Organization released guidelines to counteract the spread of HIV in prisons during the 1980s. They stated prisons should apply policies that reduce sexual violence, enhance detection, prosecute offenders, and increase evaluation of activities

title: Prison rape in the United States
text: Flanigan, a Brown University infectious disease specialist, pointed out that "other countries have a much more proactive approach" than the US. He added that, "unfortunately, our jail and prison systems are governed largely by cities and states": they're not federal. The privatization of correctional facilities can be harmful to the public health, the incentive to screen and treat inmates at a cost is low. Condoms are, "an inexpensive way to minimize the risk of HIV transmission in jails and prisons, but few state prison systems and only some of the largest jails provide them". People largely, deeply misunderstand the gravity

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: screening include: A third alternative approach for screening in the jail setting is based on demographics such as zip code of residence, age, gender and race or ethnicity. When using this approach, providers in correctional settings should with their state or local health department to determine the demographics of HIV for their population. Criteria examples for demographic screening could include: There is also some evidence that screening based on type of arrest could indicate higher rates of HIV infection. For example, a study by the Department of Justice found that HIV infection is more often associated with property and drug-related

title: National Minority AIDS Council
text: to distribute condoms to inmates and to offer voluntary HIV tests to every inmate upon his or her entry and release. Both measures, it argues, would lower the chances of inmates contracting HIV and transmitting the virus to other partners following their release from prison. HIV infections in prisons are a disproportionately serious problem for African-American males, who are seven times more likely than white males to be incarcerated. In addition, NMAC advocates for reentry initiatives to help prisoners find education and gainful employment after their release. Prisoners who successfully reintegrate into society will be better able to overcome mental

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: poverty, homelessness, mental illness, low literacy, and language issues, thereby subjecting them to mass incarceration. A study conducted at a Florida State prison concluded that the continual persistence of HIV infections and deaths related to such infections are due to unequal distribution of health care resources to inmates. Such statistics coupled with an increasing rate of incarceration only amplify the issue of HIV/HCV prevention in prisons, with the number of inmates increasing but healthcare policies remaining stagnant. While the World Health Organization has endorsed certain preventive practices, only Vermont and Mississippi State Prisons and Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York,

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: a collaborative effort between agencies to address high incarceration rates and other social justice issues such as poverty. Possible HCV prevention techniques have included vaccinations, methadone treatments for drug addicts, access to sterile syringes and needles, use of proper cleaning materials for syringes and needles, lowering the prison population, improving healthcare within prisons, increased availability of condoms, psychological therapy or counseling, or educational classes on drug use and sexual behavior for both inmates and prison staff. Some prisons already provide prevention techniques such as bleach tablets for cleaning, drug counselling, detoxification, and drug behavior management, but these techniques are not

title: Prison sexuality
text: sexually transmitted infections are transmitted by unprotected sex and sharing contaminated drug injection equipment in these correctional facilities. Many prisoners are infected while incarcerated which can affect their personal health, spread infectious diseases to other inmates, and eventually their sexual partner in the community. Because the rate of STI’s is much higher in prison, some prisons provide voluntary HIV testing and counseling to educate and reduce HIV risk behavior. Some prisoners refuse to voluntarily get tested for HIV because they fear their results will not remain confidential among the staff and that they will be discriminated. Health is a priority

title: Infectious diseases within American prisons
text: routinely for all patients aged 13-64 years. Health-care providers should initiate screening unless prevalence of undiagnosed HIV infection in their patients has been documented to be <0.1%. In the absence of existing data for HIV prevalence, health-care providers should initiate voluntary HIV screening until they establish that the diagnostic yield is <1 per 1,000 patients screened, at which point such screening is no longer warranted." Additional recommendations for juveniles that are incarcerated in adult jails include the following: Procedures for offering support to the inmate who receives a diagnosis of HIV should be in place to assure they can manage