Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) reinfection may hamper HCV elimination in prisons. We aimed to (i) determine the reinfection rate in people treated for HCV in Catalan prisons, (ii) measure reinfection in people entering prisons, and (iii) characterize the molecular epidemiology of HCV in prisons and people who inject drugs (PWID) in the community. Re-HCV was a prospective study in eight prisons (2019–2020) including two groups: (1) people cured with treatment in prison and followed-up every 6 months, and (2) people testing HCV-RNA positive at incarceration. Bio-behavioral data were collected. HCV isolates were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed with those of PWID in the community. Reinfection follow-up after treatment was achieved in 97 individuals (103.05 person-years). Two reinfections were detected, resulting in an incidence ≤ 10/100 person-years. Among people entering prison, 2% (359/17,732) were viremic, of which 334 (93.0%) were included, and 44 (13.5%) presented with reinfection (84.7% being PWID). Frequently, HCV isolates in prisons and PWID in the community were phylogenetically related. Although HCV reinfection is low after treatment, it is common in people entering Catalan prisons. To maintain a low HCV prevalence in prisons, harm-reduction services and test-and-treat programs for PWID should be strengthened both inside and outside prisons.

Details

Title
Incidence and molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus reinfection in prisons in Catalonia, Spain (Re-HCV study)
Author
Saludes, Verónica 1 ; Bordoy, Antoni E. 2 ; Yela, Elena 3 ; Turú, Elisabet 4 ; Not, Anna 2 ; López-Corbeto, Evelin 5 ; Egea-Cortés, Laia 6 ; González-Candelas, Fernando 7 ; Casabona, Jordi 5 ; Teixidó, Núria 8 ; Sastre, Anna 9 ; Ruíz, Ana 9 ; Gallego, Carlos 10 ; Touzón, Carlos 11 ; Solé, Concepció 12 ; Planella, Ramón 13 ; Vaz, Elisa 14 ; Guerrero, Rafael A. 4 ; Marco, Andrés 15 ; Martró, Elisa 1 

 Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute and Hospital (IGTP), Microbiology Department, Northern Metropolitan Clinical Laboratory, Badalona, Spain (GRID:grid.429186.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 1756 6852); Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain (GRID:grid.413448.e) (ISNI:0000 0000 9314 1427) 
 Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute and Hospital (IGTP), Microbiology Department, Northern Metropolitan Clinical Laboratory, Badalona, Spain (GRID:grid.429186.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 1756 6852) 
 Brians-1 Prison Health Services, Sant Esteve Ses Rovires, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.429186.0) 
 Catalan Institute of Health (ICS), Prison Health Programme, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) (ISNI:0000 0000 9127 6969) 
 Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain (GRID:grid.413448.e) (ISNI:0000 0000 9314 1427); Public Health Agency of Catalonia (ASPCAT), Centre for Epidemiological Studies On Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS of Catalonia (CEEISCAT), Badalona, Spain (GRID:grid.500777.2) 
 Public Health Agency of Catalonia (ASPCAT), Centre for Epidemiological Studies On Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS of Catalonia (CEEISCAT), Badalona, Spain (GRID:grid.500777.2) 
 Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain (GRID:grid.413448.e) (ISNI:0000 0000 9314 1427); Joint Research Unit Infection and Public Health FISABIO-University of Valencia I2SysBio, Valencia, Spain (GRID:grid.5338.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 2173 938X) 
 Catalan Institute of Health (ICS), Prison Health Programme, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) (ISNI:0000 0000 9127 6969); EAPP Sant Esteve Sesrovires-1, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) 
 Catalan Institute of Health (ICS), Prison Health Programme, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) (ISNI:0000 0000 9127 6969); EAPP Sant Esteve Sesrovires-2, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) 
10  Catalan Institute of Health (ICS), Prison Health Programme, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) (ISNI:0000 0000 9127 6969); EAPP La Roca del Vallés-1, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) 
11  Catalan Institute of Health (ICS), Prison Health Programme, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) (ISNI:0000 0000 9127 6969); EAPP Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) 
12  Catalan Institute of Health (ICS), Prison Health Programme, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) (ISNI:0000 0000 9127 6969); EAPP Figueres, Girona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) 
13  Catalan Institute of Health (ICS), Prison Health Programme, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) (ISNI:0000 0000 9127 6969); EAPP Lleida, Lleida, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) 
14  Catalan Institute of Health (ICS), Prison Health Programme, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) (ISNI:0000 0000 9127 6969); EAPP Tarragona, Tarragona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) 
15  Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain (GRID:grid.413448.e) (ISNI:0000 0000 9314 1427); Catalan Institute of Health (ICS), Prison Health Programme, Barcelona, Spain (GRID:grid.22061.37) (ISNI:0000 0000 9127 6969) 
Pages
16012
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2868498416
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023. corrected publication 2023. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.