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.