ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus among individuals living in restricted freedom. METHODS A seroprevalence survey was carried out with the population of the female penitentiary of the Centro de Progressão Penitenciária (CPP) in Butantan (municipality of São Paulo), between June 24 and August 20, 2020. During this period, according to the Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration (SAP), the positivity of rapid tests among inmates ranged from 65% to 78%. The evaluation method used in […]

OBJECTIVE To analyze the influence from context characteristics in the control of tuberculosis in prisons, and the influence from the program implementation degrees in observed effects. METHODS A multiple case study, with a qualitative approach, conducted in the prison systems of two Brazilian states in 2011 and 2012. Two prisons were analyzed in each state, and a prison hospital was analyzed in one of them. The data were submitted to a content analysis, which was based on external, political-organizational, implementation, […]

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalences of tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis in inmates. METHODS: Observational study was carried out with inmates of a prison and a jail in the State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, between March and December of 2008. Questionnaires were used to collect sociodemographic and epidemiological data. Tuberculin skin testing was administered (PPD-RT23-2TU/0.1 mL), and the following laboratory tests were also performed: sputum smear examination, sputum culture, identification of strains isolated and drug susceptibility testing. The variables were […]

Two cross-sectional surveys on hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection were carried out among 1,033 volunteer first-time blood donors in five blood banks (3 private, 2 public) and among 201 prisoners in the Penitentiary Center of Industrial Activity, in Goiânia, Central Brazil, between June 1988 and February 1989. Those surveys were part of a major study designed to estimate seroprevalence of HBsAg and anti-HBsAg markers by ELISA test, and to study risk factors associated with seropositivity. The presence of any serum […]

OBJECTIVES: To describe social and family support, drug use, and knowledge, practices and attitudes related to AIDS and its prevention among male teenagers. METHODS: Participants were 275 male teenagers interned in a youth detention center (FEBEM – State Foundation for Juvenile Well-Being) in São Paulo, Brazil. There were two segments. In segment 1, semi-structured interviews with 20 detainees took place. In segment 2, close-end self-administered questionnaires covering sociodemographic data, criminal records, sexual practices, drug use, attitudes, knowledge and AIDS-related practices […]

OBJECTIVE: It is an accepted fact that confinement conditions increase the risk of some infections related to sexual and/or injecting drugs practices. Mathematical techniques were applied to estimate time-dependent incidence densities of HIV infection among inmates. METHODS: A total of 631 prisoners from a Brazilian prison with 4,900 inmates at that time were interviewed and their blood drawn. Risky behavior for HIV infection was analyzed, and serological tests for HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis were performed, intended as surrogates for […]