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

In addressing the legal club of the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus computer 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 circumstantial 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 shot uniquely important opportunities for improving disease control in the community by providing health care to disease prevention program to a large and concentrated population of individuals at high risk for disease. Inmates often have little interaction with the health c are system in front and after being incarcerated. (U.S. News & World Report) The bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) describe that in 1999, HIV/AIDS in prisons and jails was a growing hassle 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, numerous inmates do not seek diagnosis or treatment for infirmity before arriving to prison or jail. Because inmates are literally a draped audience, it is vastly more efficient and effective to screen and treat them succession 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 uninfected plaintiff prisoner sued prison authorities for failing to segregate a cognize 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 derive 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 straighten out 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.