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[Hepatitis A, B and C as desmoteric infections]
1Justizvollzugsanstalt Wolfenbüttel, Universität Hamburg.
Insights
Prison inmates show significantly higher rates of Hepatitis A, B, and C infections compared to the general population, indicating these are desmoteric diseases. However, HIV incidence in prisons is similar to the general population, suggesting it is not a desmoteric infection.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Abstract:
There is a distinct spectrum of infectious diseases in prisons, known as desmoteric infections. We investigated the incidence of HIV, hepatitis A, B, and C in a group of 539 prisoners and compared them with the incidences of these infections in the normal population. The incidence of HIV was 928 out of 100,000. This figure is similar to that of the normal population. Hence, HIV infection does not seem to be a desmoteric disease. In contrast to AIDS the incidences of hepatitis A, B, and C among prisoners were 2968, 1670, and 20,000, respectively. Of course, hepatitis A, B, and C occur 100-200 times more often among prisoners and thus seem to be desmoteric infections. Moreover, especially hepatitis C is correlated strongly with intravenous drug abuse. About 80% of drug abusers were HCV positive and 50% of the total of HC infections are due to drug abusers.
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