N.C. to Implement Routine HIV Screening of Inmates

RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina state prison system will test all inmates for HIV in an effort to control the spread of infection after offenders are released.

Under the new policy, starting in November, testing will be part of the routine intake screening for new inmates and part of the annual physical for current inmates. Officials expect every inmate will be tested within a year.

The new policy follows recent pressure from lawmakers, public health officials and community leaders to diagnose and treat the state’s inmate population, which is considered the most at-risk for contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Officials with the state public health division requested corrections officials change testing policies this spring in order to comply with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has advocated HIV testing be part of routine inmate health screening since 2006.

Although inmates will have the option to refuse testing, health officials believe most inmates will want to know their health status and opt to receive the test.

Prior to the policy, inmates had to request a HIV test, and only those who reported risky behavior on an intake questionnaire were offered the test, officials say.

As of Nov. 1, inmates will no longer be asked whether they have used drugs intravenously or had sex with men before being offered the test.

Only 25 percent of male inmates entering prison in North Carolina asked to take the HIV test before the new policy was implemented, according to reports.

Other state correctional facilities that house male inmates ages 18-25 reported only 5 percent of incoming inmates were tested.

State prisons also report black inmates, a population with higher infection rates, were less inclined to take the test than other ethnic groups, officials say.
While blacks account for only 21 percent of the state’s population, nearly 50 percent of inmates in 2007 were black.

Corrections officials are concerned about the additional cost of regularly providing tests and diagnoses for more inmates. In 2007, the state prison system spent $7 million on treatment for 700 HIV-positive inmates. Officials project the new testing policy could cost more than $20 million per year.