[Perspectives] A public health prescription for US carceral facilities

The USA has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world. Shelves of books and reams of media exposés have revealed the inhumanity of American jails, prisons, and immigration detention facilities. They describe overcrowding, violence, prevalence of use of solitary confinement, arbitrariness in rules and their application, neglect and indifference to health needs, and inadequate oversight and accountability. Outbreak Behind Bars: Spider Bites, Human Rights, and the Unseen Danger to Public Health, by physician and epidemiologist Homer Venters, adds to this literature by focusing on the negligence, indifference, and malfeasance that characterise responses to infectious disease threats in US carceral facilities.