Over 100 jail inmates in Haryana HIV positive

UNDER TREATMENT State Aids Control Society, which detected the cases, has linked them with anti-retroviral treatment centres

:The Haryana State Aids Control Society (HSACS) has found as many as 107 jail inmates, including two women, to be infected with the dreaded human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) across the state.

The society, which detected the cases over the past five months during an ongoing diagnostic exercise, has linked them with anti-retroviral treatment (ART) centres in their respective districts.

It is for the first time that the HSACS has undertaken such an exercise to examine around 19,000 jail inmates (both convicts and undertrials) across the state. It has already examined about 16,000 of them. There are a total of 685 women jail inmates in Haryana jails.

During the exercise, the inmates were tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as syphilis. They were also tested for tuberculosis (TB) and Hepatitis C, which are transmitted through blood.

While Panchkula, Dadri, Fatehabad and Mewat do not have any prison, all the other 18 districts have one jail each, besides separate jails for women inmates. There are two central jails in Hisar and one is in Ambala.

“We started ART centres for the infected and have also been holding regular counselling and awareness sessions with them,” HSACS director Dr Veena Singh said.

While there was only one ART centre located at Rohtak till recently, the HSACS set up six more centres at Ambala, Sonepat, Faridabad, Jind, Hisar and Kaithal since November.

HSACS deputy director Dr Vinod Kumar said the diagnostic exercise was required as inmates in most of the cases have a tendency to indulge in unsafe as well as hetro-sexual activities –especially with sex workers. As a result, they often get infected with various sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV, and then spread it to others too.

“In one of the state jails, seven of the 20 infected inmates were reportedly used to intravenous drugs, besides indulging in unsafe and hetro-sexual activities, extensively when being out of prison on parole, thus exposing themselves more to the dreaded disease.

“We are going to make the diagnostic exercise in jails a regular feature of the HSACS with the help of the prison department, besides treating the infected inmates free of charge,” health minister Anil Vij said.

13,000 HIV POSITIVE PATIENTS IN STATE

In all, there are around 13,000 HIV positive patients in Haryana.

Besides, the seven ART centres, there are 100 integrated counselling and testing centres (ICTCs) at all civil hospitals and several health centres across Haryana, where people can get them tested for HIV.

We are going to make the diagnostic exercise in jails a regular feature, besides treating the infected inmates free of charge.

ANIL VIJ, health minister