Vaccination in the county jail as a strategy to reach high risk adults during a community-based hepatitis A outbreak among methamphetamine drug users
Vaccine·
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.vaccine.2004.07.038
- PMID
- 15620475
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W2008848381
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
In communities where illicit drug users face hepatitis A risk and are frequently incarcerated, jail-based vaccination programs may serve as an important component of outbreak control strategies.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study assessed whether the county jail could serve as an effective vaccination venue during a community hepatitis A outbreak affecting methamphetamine drug users.
Study design
Investigators interviewed 280 inmates and conducted a serologic survey in the county jail during July-August 2002, following an outbreak that occurred from January 2001 through July 2002.
Population and setting
The study enrolled 280 jail inmates in Polk County, Florida, of whom 227 (81%) reported a history of illicit drug use. During the preceding outbreak, 48% of the 403 reported hepatitis A cases were drug users, and 80% of those had recent jail involvement.
Main findings
Among the surveyed inmates, 33% had evidence of previous hepatitis A virus infection. The high proportion of outbreak cases with recent jail history suggested that jail-based vaccination could reach a substantial portion of at-risk drug users.
Public-health relevance
In communities where illicit drug users face hepatitis A risk and are frequently incarcerated, jail-based vaccination programs may serve as an important component of outbreak control strategies.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. The original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation, including details on sampling methods, representativeness, vaccination uptake feasibility, and generalizability beyond the specific outbreak context.
GIDS interpretation
This article is discoverable under hepatitis A, outbreak investigation, and vaccination topics. It describes a completed outbreak response evaluation in a specific county and does not itself represent an active surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.