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| Condoms Urged for Male Prisoners |
| By Reuters Health |
| Published: 09/16/2002 |
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Male prisoners who have sex with men face a high risk of contracting and spreading the sexually transmitted disease syphilis, and are also likely to be infected with HIV, a study in one California prison shows. For this reason, the researchers argue, prisons should provide condoms to inmates, or else strictly enforce bans on sex between inmates. Syphilis can be spread in the early stages of infection, when it may not yet be clear that a person is carrying the disease. Left untreated, syphilis infection can damage the brain, heart and other internal organs. It can also make people more likely to contract, and spread, HIV. In the general US population, syphilis is relatively scarce, infecting fewer than three people per 100,000, according to a report in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health, journal of the American Public Health Association. However, sporadic outbreaks still do occur and incarcerated men who have sex with other men are viewed as a high-risk group. James L. Chen of the University of California-Davis and colleagues report on a syphilis control program instituted in a unit of the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail. Men in the unit identified themselves as having sex with other men, and chose to be segregated from the rest of the prison population. This is the first published report on a mass screening and treatment program in such a voluntarily segregated group, Chen and colleagues note. The syphilis control effort involved voluntarily screening for syphilis, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) for all men in the unit, beginning in March 2000 and ending in August. The prison began offering the antibiotic azithromycin as preventive syphilis treatment in April, and continued doing so through August. Beginning in June, the prison asked men entering the unit to complete a survey on their sexual behavior. In all, 811 men were screened, and 5% tested positive for syphilis. Ninety-four percent of inmates who were screened accepted preventive treatment. Nine percent of the men tested positive for HIV, while 2% had chlamydia and 1% had gonorrhea. The survey found that many of the newly admitted inmates admitted to 'high-risk behaviors,' such as not using condoms and having anonymous sex with a variety of partners. The jail now has a permanent sexually transmitted disease screening program for newly admitted inmates, the authors note. 'Given the amount of high-risk sex among men who have sex with men in prison, condoms should be made available in prisons. Alternatively, stricter enforcement of bans on sex between inmates could decrease the spread of sexually transmitted diseases,' Chen's team concludes. |
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