Maryland is not alone in its rising rate of infectious diseases among prisoners.

Nearly one in three inmates entering the Maryland prison system is infected with HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus -- many of them with more than one infection -- according to a blood survey released yesterday by state health officials.

The most prevalent infection in Maryland state prisons was hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can cause liver disease, including cancer and cirrhosis, and other serious complications, according to the report by the Maryland AIDS Administration. At a time when less than 2 percent of the U.S. population is infected with hepatitis C, 29.7 percent of Maryland prisoners had it, said Liza Solomon, the agency's director.

Even if you don't care about prisoners, you should know that this has consequences for all of us.

The higher rate of disease among prisoners has major public health implications beyond prison walls, she said, because inmates eventually are released into the community, where they can spread the infections. Reaching undiagnosed inmates in prison is an important opportunity for the state to limit diseases that can disrupt or prematurely end lives.

Here's more on the problem and what should be done about it.