Cargando…

Does In-Person Visiting Affect the Number of COVID-19 Cases in Prisons?

Even with the current advances that have been made in regard to COVID-19, such as a better understanding of the disease and the steady growth in the number of vaccinated individuals, it remains a challenge for humanity. Dealing with the disease in prison settings has been particularly difficult. Thi...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Borges, Lysandro Pinto, Martins, Aline Fagundes, de Souza, Daniela Raguer Valadão, de Rezende Neto, José Melquiades, Santos, Aryanne Araujo, Oliveira, Brenda Morais, Matos, Igor Leonardo Santos, da Invenção, Grazielly Bispo, dos Santos, Kezia Alves, Souza, Nicolas Alessandro Alves, de Jesus, Pamela Chaves, dos Santos, Cliomar Alves, de Oliveira Goes, Marco Aurélio, de Souza, Mércia Simone Feitosa, de Carvalho Barreto, Ikaro Daniel, Guimarães, Adriana Gibara, Quintans-Júnior, Lucindo José
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8617881/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34833060
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life11111184
Descripción
Sumario:Even with the current advances that have been made in regard to COVID-19, such as a better understanding of the disease and the steady growth in the number of vaccinated individuals, it remains a challenge for humanity. Dealing with the disease in prison settings has been particularly difficult. This study sought to discover whether in-person visiting affected the number of cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the penitentiaries in the state of Sergipe (Brazil). We conducted a two-phase study (when visiting was suspended and after it recommenced) in seven penitentiaries in Sergipe using immunochromatography and nasopharyngeal swab testing to evaluate whether visiting affects the number of COVID-19 cases. In the first phase (n = 778), 57.6% of inmates reported risk factors and 32.5% were positive for COVID-19 (18.9% IgM, 24.2% IgG, 1% antigen). In the second phase, 19.6% tested positive (13.9% IgM, 7.9% IgG, 0.2% antigen). The occurrence of positive cases of COVID-19 and positive results (IgM and IgG) were significantly higher in the first phase. In the second phase, 56.7% of inmates had received visits and 18.7% were positive for COVID-19 (14% IgM, 7% IgG). Among those who had not received visits, 20.9% tested positive (13.8% IgM, 9.2% IgG, 0.5% antigen). There was no significant difference in positive cases/results between inmates that had and had not received visits. These findings suggest that, under the conditions assessed, visiting does not seem to affect the number of COVID-19 cases in prisons and reinforces the importance of sanitary measures to control dissemination.