Epidemiology of B/C virus infection hepatitis in the Northern Moldavian correctional facilities risk factors.

AIM To identify the specific risk factors for chronic hepatitis B/C virus infections in the correctional system in Moldova (Romania). MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included 533 subjects imprisoned in three correctional facilities located in the Northern region of Moldova. The subjects were divided into 2 groups: HBV/HBC group--108; Control group--425. RESULTS The risk factor for transfusion-contracted HBV/HCV was 3.73; the empirical treatment of the HBV/HBC group resulted in a relative infection risk of 2.62; syringe sharing in the HBV/HBC group accounted for a risk factor of over 4 (OR = 4.33); tattooing induced a relative risk factor of 1.25, and piercing was a risk factor of approximately 2 (OR = 1.97); sharing personal care items represented a risk factor of over 2 (OR = 2.02). Injection drugs induced a relative risk of over 4 (OR = 4.33). In the HBV/HCV group, self-aggression represented a risk factor of 1.65. CONCLUSIONS Prison environment, by its specific and nonspecific contamination modalities (shared with the rest of the population but more common) causes that inmates to be 2-4 times more exposed to hepatitis B/C infection.