HIV/AIDS, HEPATITIS CASES RISE IN PRISON

Cases of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C are on the rise in Canada's federal and
provincial correctional centers, and governments are doing little to help,
according to a bleak report card issued in late November by the Canadian
HIV/AIDS Legal Network. Known cases of HIV/AIDS in the federal prison
system have increased by 35 percent in the last four years; prisoners are
now up to 70 percent more likely to be living with HIV than are people in
the general population, the report said. And while only 0.8 percent of
Canadians have been diagnosed with hepatitis C, up to 80 percent of
prisoners are infected. According to the network, the federal and
provincial governments are falling short in areas like HIV and hepatitis C
education for prisoners and staff, providing prisoners with basic
preventative measures and services, and ensuring the availability of
treatment for prisoners with HIV.