HIV/AIDS in Prisons and Jails :: STD, HIV, AIDS

In addressing the barroom of the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus virus in prisons, we have seen a rush to develop and implement prevention measures. Much attention has centered on such controversial issues as compulsory or voluntary blood testing, isolation versus integration of human immunodeficiency virus infected inmates into the prison mainstreams, provision of condoms and disposable needles, and effective educational measures for special groups within the prison.Unfortunately, this rush to develop and implement preventive measures has resulted in a degree of polarization which has hindered progress towards implementation of effective prevention measures. Prisons and jails contribute uniquely important opportunities for improving disease control in the confederation by providing health care to disease prevention program to a large and concentrated population of individuals at high risk for disease. Inmates a great deal have little interaction with the health ca re system to begin with and after being incarcerated. (U.S. News & World Report) The bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) inform that in 1999, HIV/AIDS in prisons and jails was a growing worry in American correctional facilities. The AIDS rate in US prisons was five times the rate of general population. (Society. 2003)For a variety of reasons, many another(prenominal) inmates do not seek diagnosis or treatment for illness before arriving to prison or jail. Because inmates are literally a captive audience, it is vastly more efficient and effective to screen and treat them art object incarcerated than to conduct extensive outreach in local communities. (AIDS Weekly. 1998) Uninfected prisoners have sued the governing for failing to test and segregate. In a recently reported case, Cameron v. Metcuz 705 F. Supp 454 (N.D. Ind 1989), an sportsmanlike plaintiff prisoner sued prison authorities for failing to segregate a cognise infected prisoner with a violent history who had bitten the plaintiff. In that case, the court found that the authorities failure to segregate a known infected prisoner with a violent history did not heart to gross negligence or reckless indifference to the prisoner who was bitten. (Mead. Vol. 15 no. 5, pp. 197-9).There is a clear case for urgent better of the law as it relates to prisoners rights to ensure meaningful HIV/AIDS prevention and care strategies for both the prison and general populations.