Should prisoners be immunized against hepatitis B?

Abstract

We would urge public health officials to consider the development, in coordination with correctional authorities, of programs which would offer hepatitis B screening and immunization to those prisoners judged to be at highest risk of infection. Specific funding for such programs must be sought; prison directors cannot be expected to use their limited resources for a program motivated by general public health, rather than correctional, considerations. Such a program would not only prevent the medical and social costs of hepatitis B among the targeted group itself, but may also reduce transmission among the general population of intravenous drug users and society at large.