UP to screen prisoners for TB and HIV from Oct 15

The Uttar Pradesh government will launch a special campaign next month to screen and test inmates of all the 74 jails of the state for tuberculosis, HIV, hepatitis B and C, and sexually transmitted diseases, officials said.

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The 'Integrated STI, HIV, TB and Hepatitis (ISHTH) campaign in Prisons and Other Closed Settings' will be run by the Uttar Pradesh State AIDS Control Society in collaboration with National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).

According to the Uttar Pradesh State AIDS Control Society, there are about 1.16 lakh prisoners in the 74 jails of which, 65 per cent are undertrials and about 35 per cent have been convicted.

At present, 1,550 of them are HIV positive, 440 have tuberculosis, 174 are infected with hepatitis C and 56 have hepatitis B, officials said, adding that they are being treated free of cost in the jails.