Two prisoners detected with HIV/AIDS

4,400 prisoners in Central Jail Adiala at the risk of HIV after two female prisoners tested positive of the syndrome.

RAWALPINDI: Over 4,400 prisoners in Central Jail Adiala are at the risk of HIV/AIDS after two female prisoners tested positive of the syndrome.

Officials told The Express Tribune that 3,916 samples were collected by teams of  District Headquarters Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Holy Family Hospital.

The tests were conducted following the directives of the Punjab Government after concerns were raised about the spread of the virus in the jail compound.

“The jail authorities are doing everything they can to treat these two women and are taking the required steps to prevent the spread of the virus,” said Jail Superintendent Saeed Ullah Gondal.

An official, however, said that the two women had been shifted to the female ward of the jail where they were not receiving proper treatment. “The administration is short on funds which is why it did not take necessary precautionary steps to control the spread of the virus,” a source working in the jail said.

The Central Adiala Jail was built in 1986 and has the capacity to accommodate 1,500 prisoners. At the moment, however, the jail has more than 4,400 prisoners. Gondal appealed to the authorities to solve the problem of space in the prison and build an extension.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2010.