New research reveals that a vast majority of HIV-infected prison inmates, after release, do not fill their prescriptions for antiretroviral therapy within the necessary 10 days, putting themselves at great risk of acquiring new infections.

 

People who discontinue antiretroviral therapy “are at increased risk of developing a higher viral burden, resulting in greater infectiousness and higher levels of drug resistance, potentially creating reservoirs of drug-resistant HIV in the general community,” researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston wrote in the Feb. 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

 

The findings are based on a study of more than 2,100 HIV-infected former inmates released between 2004 and 2008. Less than 18 percent filled their prescription for antiretroviral medication within 30 days of discharge, the researchers found. This percentage rose to only 30 percent within 60 days.

 

Only 5.4 percent filled a prescription with the first 10 days of their prison release. This is the amount of time a person infected with HIV must not exceed in order to be safe.

 

“These exceedingly high rates of treatment interruption suggest that most inmates face significant administrative, socioeconomic, or personal barriers to accessing antiretroviral therapy when they return to their communities,” the researchers wrote.

 

They further called for greater coordination between state and local agencies, health care institutions and community-based organizations to help these inmates keep their HIV infections in check in order to prevent a public health crisis.