Abstracts of the 2022 Annual Meeting of the ALEH
More infoAccessing to a closed population such as prisoners opens a great possibility for controlling HCV infection through treatment with Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). Introduction. This study aimed to determine HIV, syphilis, HBV and HCV prevalence in the eight penal institution inmates of Mendoza´s province to achieve microelimination of viral hepatitis.
Materials and MethodsDuring 2019, HIV, HCV, syphilis and HBsAg tests were offered to all inmates. In order to characterize risk factors associated with this population, they were given a voluntary self-administered survey on sexual practices, drug use and self-perception of their health status. 4024 out of 4821 subjects were enrolled, 3,899 cisgender-men (83.02%) and 125 cisgender-women (100%); all of them signed informed consent.
ResultsPrevalence for anti-HCV, HBsAg, anti-HIV and antiSyphilis were 0,82%, 0,15%, 0,15% and 2,55%, respectively. The average age of patients infected with HCV and HBV was 44 years old. In 31 out of 33 inmates, viral load and genotype were determined. The most prevalent genotype was 1a (71%), followed by 1b (19.3%), 3a (6,5%) and 2a/c (3.2%). 13 out of 31 (42%) received DAAs treatment, of which 9 (69%) had a sustained viral response (SVR), three did not reach SVR, and one is currently under treatment. 10 out of 31 (32%) inmates were lost to follow-up. Eight patients are waiting for their treatments. Only 1 out of 6 HBV-positive inmates had detectable viral load and is under follow-up.
ConclusionsThere´s a previous study in Argentina´s federal prisons (2016) on 2.277 inmates, where HCV and HBV prevalences were higher than ours (3,3% and 0,51%, respectively). Analyzing the local survey response, this gap could be due to the percentage of injection drug use: 3,13% in provincial vs. 6% in federal inmates. Checking for HCV/HBV infections in every new inmate has been adopted as a sanitary policy until nowadays.
