Two community hepatitis B outbreaks: an argument for vaccinating incarcerated persons.
Current recommendations have not resulted in routine vaccination of correctional facility inmates for hepatitis B. We investigated two hepatitis B outbreaks. Outbreak 1 involved 4 cases epidemiologically linked to persons who had been in jail. Outbreak 2 involved 48 community cases; 69% had a history of incarceration. Two-thirds of the cases in these outbreaks might have been prevented by a program of routine vaccination of local jail inmates. Priority should be given to developing and supporting practical programs to vaccinate the high-risk populations in correctional facilities against hepatitis B.
Devasia
Rose A
RA
Tennessee Department of Health, Communicable and Environmental Services, North Nashville, TN 37247, USA.
Jones
Timothy F
TF
Kainer
Marion A
MA
Halford
Sandy
S
Sheeler
Lorinda L
LL
Swift
Jamie
J
Schaffner
William
W
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011329:Prisoners; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines