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Section 2. Recommendations for Care of Children in Special Circumstances
Hepatitis and Youth in Correctional Settings
Hepatitis C
Of the nearly 4 million people chronically infected with hepatitis C virus in the United States, approximately 30% have been incarcerated in one or more of the nations correctional institutions. The most common mode of acquisition of hepatitis C virus is injection drug use; exposure to multiple sexual partners is a distant second. Up to 80% of inmates who use illicit injection drugs will be infected with hepatitis C virus within 5 years after the onset of their drug use. Tattooing and body piercing in regulated settings are not thought to be significant sources of transmission of hepatitis C virus, but tattoos received in a correctional facility can be associated with hepatitis C. Prevalence
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Red Book 2009 2009: 357-360.