The New York Times reports today that infections in newly released inmates are a rising concern.

....jails and prisons have become giant incubators for some of the worst infectious diseases.

According to a study released today at a conference sponsored by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 1.3 million inmates released from jail or prison in 1996 were infected with hepatitis C. That was 29 percent of the 4.5 million cases nationwide.

Similarly, newly released inmates accounted for 35 percent of the 34,000 Americans with tuberculosis in 1996, the study found. And newly released inmates accounted for 13 to 17 percent of Americans infected with H.I.V. or AIDS, the study estimated.

The problem has become so acute that health care officials and prisoner rights groups are calling for widespread testing of prison populations for hepatitis C and faster treatment of prisoners.

This is a problem for everyone. Most inmates are not serving life sentences for murder. Most will be released at some point.

...experts say the high rate of communicable diseases among inmates is a critical issue for two reasons: the danger inmates pose of infecting others when they are released, and the opportunity to treat them that is largely being wasted. Dr. Greifinger said that Americans tended to forget that most inmates eventually return home. In 2000, about nine million people were released from jail and prison, according to Allen J. Beck, of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the statistical arm of the Justice Department.