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We read the manuscript by Hajarizadeh et al. [1] with great interest. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) reinfection and ongoing risk exposure among individuals who inject drugs in the prison setting is a major concern and may slow elimination efforts. The SToP-C study by Hajarizadeh et al. [2] highlighted a high frequency of HCV reinfection in an Australian prison population, particularly among those who reported continued injecting drug use (IDU), and indicates a critical need to enhance preventive and harm reduction interventions within this population. We previously found a similarly high frequency of HCV reinfection in a prison population in North East England [3]. We reported that 95 individuals had HCV reinfection following treatment within prison. Of them, data were available for 76 individuals to further evaluate and additional work was conducted to determine where these reinfections occurred. Of 76 individuals, 80% were male with median age of 34 years (range: 22–53). All had a history of recent IDU. Approximately 97% (74/76) were on opiod agonist therapy (OAT) and OAT were available for all individuals in the prison via the drug and substance service. Fourteen individuals acquired the infection in the community (reinfection after release) and 59 individuals were reinfected either in the community or within prison. Strikingly, three individuals were confirmed to acquire HCV reinfection in the prison (had been in prison throughout). Despite there being good evidence of needle and syringe programmes (NSP) and other harm minimisation strategies in prison preventing transmission of blood borne viruses [4], NSP is not available in prisons in England. Moreover, NSP and harm minimisation services are also inadequate in the community [5]. In England, there has been a significant financial investment in HCV testing and treatment in Prisons leading to a large number of individuals identified and treated, but investment in NSP and harm minimisation seems to have been forgotten. Despite an overall fall of more than 50% in the number of people living with HCV in England, HCV reinfection rates are high among recent injectors (22.6 per 100 person years) and those treated in prison (20.4 per 100 person years) in England [3], which may threaten the goal to achieve and maintain HCV elimination. Harm minimisation must be improved for these individuals. We agree with Hajarizadeh et al., that enhancing preventative measures, such as NSP, in the prison setting worldwide is an urgent priority to reduce the risk on ongoing transmission of HCV in this high-risk group, particularly as the cost of NSP is modest when compared with the cost of antiviral treatment in many areas. S.M.P. has received grant support from Gilead, consultant fees from Gilead, AbbVie, Intercept, and Novo Nordisk, and lecture fees from Gilead. The other authors have no conflict of interest. The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.