Number of AIDS patients growing in Tihar

New Delhi, Mar 7 (UNI) The number of HIV-infected inmates in the Tihar Central Jail has gone up from 12 in 2002 to 36 in 2006, Parliament was informed today.

Strict vigilance and surveillance on the movement of these HIV- infected prisoners is being kept so that they could not spread AIDS deliberately to other inmates and jail staff, Minister of State for Home S Regupathy said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

However, no instance has come to notice in which HIV infected inmates have deliberately tried to spread the infection.

He said the number of HIV/AIDS patients has gone up in Tihar Central Jail from 12 in 2002 to 14 in 2003, 20 in 2004, 16 in 2005 and 36 in 2006.

He said to prevent the spread of HIV infection in the jail, all prisoners are medically screened to ascertain history of infection and addiction and suspected HIV patients are referred to super speciality hospitals for their clinical examination and advice.

Anti retroviral treatment is provided to the infected prisoners on the advice of the specialist doctors and regular health screening camps are held in the jails to rule out any possibility of spread of infection to others. Moreover, strict vigilance and surveillance on the movements of HIV infected prisoners is kept, he added.

UNI