Settlement requires NC prisons to increase Hepatitis C treatment, testing and education

North Carolina inmates are now getting more protection against a virus that has been plaguing prisons for decades.

A federal lawsuit settlement, approved in a U.S. District Court on Monday, will increase treatment, testing and education about Hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by a virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is usually spread through blood contact or sharing items such as syringes and needles.

Civil rights groups and inmates sued the North Carolina Department of Public Safety in 2018, saying its current Hepatitis C program was "cruel and unusual punishment."

According to the settlement, both parties share the goal of reducing the spread of Hepatitis C inside correctional facilities and decreasing the rate of infection within the prisoner population.

The settlement includes expanded patient education, screenings upon admission, transfer and routine physicals, as well as enhanced treatment.