Fear of Australian jail-based HIV infection “epidemic”

A voluntary testing program inside one of Australia’s prisons in Canberra, ACT, in August found 40 per cent of prisoners testing positive for Hepatitis-C, with former prisoners, health experts and warders warning of an “epidemic” of HIV infection inside the country’s jails. The high number of hepatitis-C infection and HIV infection is being blamed by prison staff on prisoners sharing needles, with one claiming the ACT prison system now has more dirty needles than ever before. The alarming comments and statistic comes at a time when the ACT Government is mulling a trial needle exchange program inside ACT jails, with the trade union that represents the 10,000-plus correctional officers, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), remaining firmly opposed to … Continue reading