HIV rate 10 times higher in prisons

HIV infection rates among Irish prisoners are 10 times higher than the general population, a prison reform group said yesterday.

Marking World AIDS Day, the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) called on the Government to take immediate action to halt the transmission of HIV in prisons.

IPRT executive director Rick Lines said: “Research has shown that the rate of HIV infection among prisoners is more than 10 times higher than that in the general population.