Up to 40% of American prisoners could be infected with the hepatitis C virus, which can cause fatal liver disease, but little or nothing is being done to treat inmates in prisons around the country, National Public Radio's All Things Considered reports.  Up until last year, interferon was the only treatment available for HCV, but the drug was only effective in suppressing the virus in 10% of those treated.  However, last year a new drug called ribavirin was approved to treat HCV in combination with interferon.  The combination is successful in up to 40% of patients.  But many HCV-positive prisoners are not receiving treatment due to several issues:  Only 20% of people infected with HCV develop serious liver problems, many prisoners do not have the six to 12 months left in their sentences to complete a course of combination therapy, and side effects of the drugs, including suicidal depression, could pose safety issues in a prison setting.  As such, only 1%-5% of inmates qualify for treatment, which a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specialist says is acceptable because the treatments can cost as much as $15,000 per inmate.  Several states, including Texas, Virginia and California, have treatment programs for their inmates, but others do not.  Maryland, for example, does not offer treatment because officials estimate a comprehensive program would cost $9 million and are reluctant to fund such a large expense.  Many question the state's responsibility to provide treatment to prisoners.  Washington state Rep. Jack Cairnes (R), citing possible ways a person could contract HCV, said, 'Being an IV drug user, that's a lifestyle choice.   Multiple sex partners, that's a lifestyle choice.  Body piercing, that's a lifestyle choice.'  Nevertheless, the Washington Legislature gave $1.8 million to fund an HCV program in prisons.  Dr. Nancy Dubler, a medical ethicist at New York's Montefiore Medical Center, believes the prisons should follow the 'community standard,' noting that people are 'in prison to be confined and punished but not to have their health ruined.'  The CDC plans to release guidelines for the treatment of HCV in prisons early next year. 
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