Testing and Treating Prisoners for Hepatitis C

July 6, 2017

Carl was in and out of the Connecticut prison system for years, struggling to retake control of his life and overcome his addiction to heroin.

One day, while being screened to work as a food handler in one facility, Carl made a startling discovery: He had hepatitis C. In fact, his liver was already severely damaged.

Fortunately, Carl was able to complete a 12-week course of direct-acting antiviral treatments within prison that cured him of the virus. Before release, he also opted for treatment with buprenorphine, an effective medication that treats opioid addiction, to guard against a potential heroin relapse, overdose and re-infection. Carl has remained out of prison, has not relapsed and remains on buprenorphine. Most importantly, he is cured of hepatitis C.

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