Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. LA County Jails See Outbreak of Staph Infections
An outbreak of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is spreading throughout the Los Angeles County jail system, affecting more than 1,000 inmates in the last year and causing at least 57 hospitalizations. Federal officials say the outbreak is the largest of its kind in the nation's correctional systems. The infection, which causes boils, deep skin abscesses and widespread surrounding inflammation, was initially misdiagnosed as spider bites. Jail doctors are now administering two antibiotics in tandem and improving hygiene measures such as providing inmates better access to showers and clean laundry.
Los Angeles Times, 1/31/03
Rapid HIV Test Extended to More Sites
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the availability of the OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test from the 38,000 laboratories it was initially approved for to more than 100,000 sites including jails, prisons, physician offices, and HIV counseling centers. The test, manufactured by Orasure Technologies and marketed by Abbott Laboratories, uses a fingerstick sample of blood and provides results within 20 minutes.
FDA Press Office, 1/31/03
Report: "Dangerous" Health Care at Limestone
Prison Commissioner Donal Campbell released a medical consultantıs report that found "dangerous andextremely poor quality health care" at Limestone Correctional Facility at Capshaw, Alabama. The report, by Chicago-based Jacqueline Moore and Associates, says the death rate from AIDS at Limestone is more than twice the national average in prisons, and that efforts to control infectious and communicable diseases at the facility were not adequately monitored or reported. Medical services in Alabama prisons are provided by NaphCare; NaphCare officials state that some of the comments in the report are "unsubstantiated and misleading." Department of Corrections spokesman Brian corbett said officials were asking NaphCare to follow up on deficiencies based on the audits.
Associated Press, 2/13/03
Roche Reduces Cost of Copegus (ribavirin)
Roche has reduced the list price or wholesale acquisition cost of Copegus (ribavirin) to $5.06 per 200 mg tablet. Roche's Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a) and Copegus combination therapy was approved by the FDA in December 2002.
PRNewswire, 1/13/03
Costs of Testing and Treating HCV in NJ Published
Memos and emails obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer through the state's Open Records Act indicate that the price of testing and treating inmates in New Jersey prisons with the disease could cost $4.5 to $8 million this year. The prison medical provider, Correctional Medical Services (CMS) projected that if just 25% of the state's prison inmates were tested, it would cost $4.5 million a year for treatment and testing in accordance with the Federal Bureau of Prisons guidelines, a standard New Jersey says it will meet. If 75% of the inmates were tested, annual costs could reach $8.4 million, according to CMS documents.
Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/12/03
ACLU Files Class-Action Lawsuit Against MI Prisons
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class-action lawsuit in federal district court in January, charging that Michigan prison officials allowed HCV to reach epidemic proportions by failing to adequately test and treat HCV+ inmates. The ACLU claims that state protocols for testing and treatment fall short of accepted medical standards, and that the state sometimes fails to adhere to its own standards. The suit names the Michigan Department of Corrections and Correctional Medical Services as defendants.
ACLU, 1/21/03
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©1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003. The recently formed HIV Education Prison Project (HEPP) is a medical education program that targets a growing population, inmates in correctional facilities, that has been underserved in HIV care. It is part of the Brown University AIDS Program. Permission to use and reproduce portions of this newsletter is hereby granted provided that author and publication are fully credited and both copyright and permission notice appear with reprinted material. Inquiries may be directed to heppnews@brown.edu. Website: HIV Education Prison Project.
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