With 120 HIV infected inmates, Yerawada tops prisons in state
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/With-120-HIV-infected-inmates-Yerawada-tops-prisons-in-state/articleshow/7018386.cmsUmesh Isalkar, TNN, Dec 1, 2010,
PUNE: In the cramped, often unhygienic conditions of the 29 central
and district jails in the state where medical care is down to the
basics, 467 inmates have tested positive for HIV infection in the last
two years. Yerawada Central Jail in Pune has 120 HIV infected inmates,
the highest in the state.
"A total 21,404 prisoners in Maharashtra's prisons were screened in
the last two years. Of them, 4,472 inmates were from Yerawada Central
Jail. Among them, 120 were detected with HIV infection which is the
highest in the state," said Dilip Deshmukh, additional project
director of the Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS) told
TOI on Monday
Of the 467 HIV infected prisoners, 87 have been put on antiretroviral
treatment as their CD4 count is less than 250, said Deshmukh.
CD4 cells are specialised cells that protect the body. HIV attacks
these cells and uses them to spread the virus which weakens the immune
system.
People without HIV infection have about 700 to 1000 CD4 cells in a
drop of blood. HIV infected people are considered to have normal CD4
counts if the number is above 500 CD4 cells in on blood drop.
Health experts say that prisoners can be HIV infected if they
participate in unprotected sex or share infected needles while using
illicit drugs.
They also maintained that the HIV infection rate among prisoners was
lower than the general populace that came for testing to integrated
counselling and treatment centres at hospitals.
"The prevalence rate comes to 2.18 per cent of the total number of
prisoners which is below the 4.7 per cent incidence rate in the
general population coming to ICTCs for testing," said Deshmukh.
"The presence of HIV infected persons and those at high risk in
prisons is a critical challenge. Unlike the general population, many
prisoners may not be aware if they are infected with HIV. Often,
vastly crowded living conditions lead to such behaviour among
prisoners," said A L Kakrani, professor and head department of
medicine D Y Patil Medical College. He is also an ex-member of the
technical resource group of the Government of India on ART.
"The tedious prison environment, lack of occupation of mind and body
and plain boredom lead to accumulated frustration and tension. This
environment leads to the high-risk activities such as use of drugs and
unprotected sex between men," Kakrani said.
The history of five HIV infected inmates at Yerawada jail has revealed
that they were MSM (men having sex with men), said Sudhakar Ingale,
counsellor of the ICTC centre at the jail. "We are spreading awareness
about the risks associated with MSM among the prisoners," he said.
A recent UNAIDS report says that the HIV epidemic in Asia was
concentrated largely among people who inject drugs, sex workers (FSW)
and their clients, and MSMs. About 90 per cent of those newly infected
with HIV in India were believed to have acquired it during unprotected
sex.
The ICTC facilities
The Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) facilities were
started at Yerawada and Amravati jails by the MSACS as a pilot project
on October 2, 2008 . The move came following a directive by the Bombay
High Court.
The ICTC facilities with full-time counsellors and technicians have
been started at five more jails including Nashik, Taloja, Kolhapur,
Aurangabad and Nagpur. The other jails in the state send the inmates
for testing and counselling to government hospitals that have ICTC
facilities.
"There are no plans to set up full-fledged ICTCs in all the prisons in
the state. Earlier, a proposal was sent to the National AIDS Control
Society of India (NACO), but they are ready to extend only training if
the state government recruits workforce," said Deshmukh.
An integrated counselling and testing centre is a place where a person
is counselled and tested for HIV, on his own free will or as advised
by a medical practitioner. The main functions of an ICTC include
counselling and testing for HIV, creating awareness on modes of
transmission, prevention of HIV/AIDS for promoting behavioural change
and reducing vulnerability.
--
Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it there, and to be guided by truth as one sees it. But no one has a right to coerce others to act according to his own view of truth. - Mohandas Gandhi
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "SAFE - Social Action Foundation for Equity" group.
To post to this group, send email to
socialactionfoundationforequity@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
socialactionfoundationforequity+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.co.in/group/socialactionfoundationforequity?hl=en?hl=en-GB
Posts
