Inmates’ A.I.D.S. risk study

Press, 24 August 1988, Page 2

Inmates’ A.I.D.S. risk study

Political reporter Behaviour that could help spread A.I.D.S. in prisons would be studied by an inter-departmental working party, said the Minister of Justice, Mr Palmer, yesterday. Sex and needles will be obvious study areas, but the Justice Department said that the working party would look at all behaviour that could transmit the disease, including tattooing. Two inmates with H.I.V. positive had been found but no case of fullblown A.1.D.5., the department said. Mr Palmer said that although

the incidence of the disease in prisons had been minimal, vigilance was required. “The issue of A.I.D.S. is not going to go away. So far there appears to be no cure for this infection. The only thing we can do about it is try to prevent it. In a closed system like a prison we must do anything we can to ensure that prevention.” Mr Palmer would not comment on the possibility of allowing condoms or the needle-swap scheme into prisons, until the working party had reported. A key concern with condoms is

likely to be the possibility of misuse, including their use for internal concealment of drugs. The working party will be drawn from the Justice and Health departments. The Opposition spokesman on health, Mr Don McKinnon, accused the Government of sitting on its hands too long over the issue* “Prisons have the potential to act as incubators for the A.I.D.S. virus, and if we allow the spread of A.I.D.S. in prisons we are creating a time-bomb for future generations,” he said.