Hepatitis C virus infection among prisoners in the California state correctional system.

Background: Incarcerated populations are at high risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, yet prisoners are not routinely screened or treated for HCV infection. Understanding the risk factors of HCV infection among prisoners could help improve HCV interventions.

Methods: Prevalence and risk of HCV infection among 469 prisoners entering California State correctional facilities were assessed using HCV antibody screening, HCV RNA measurement, and structured interviews.

Decline in HIV infectivity following the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: Little is known about the degree to which widespread use of antiretroviral therapy in a community reduces uninfected individuals' risk of acquiring HIV. We estimated the degree to which the probability of HIV infection from an infected partner (the infectivity) declined following the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in San Francisco.

Design: Homosexual men from the San Francisco Young Men's Health Study, who were initially uninfected with HIV, were asked about sexual practices, and tested for HIV antibodies at each of four follow-up visits during a 6-year period spanning the advent of widespread use of HAART (1994-1999).

Hepatitis C virus infection in young, low-income women: the role of sexually transmitted infection as a potential cofactor for HCV infection.

Objectives: We evaluated risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in women residing in low-income neighborhoods of northern California.

Methods: A population-based sample of 1707 women, aged 18 to 29, were surveyed and screened for sexually transmitted infections and HCV.

Results: Women infected with HCV (2.