Assam: Prisoners’ testes positive for HIV
Guwahati: More than a hundred prisoners have been tested positive for HIV in several jails in Assam.
According to reports, the Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS) reported that at least 116 jail prisoners had tested HIV positive in various jails since April in the state.
However, the health officials claimed that the case occurred before they were incarcerated in jails, and the prisoners who were accused of drug peddling were arrested by the Assam police during the Himanta Biswa Sarma regimes in Assam.
Pankaj Choudhury, the North East Technical Support Unit of NACO’s North East Technical Support Unit stated that they have devised a method to transport them to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in order to successfully inhibit replication, with a focus on preventing high-risk behavior after they’ve been released from prison.
He further added that the testing is now occurring in 22 Assam jails, with the possibility of further cases being discovered.