No HIV/AIDS drugs, no mandatory testing

A South African prison official on Wednesday said no-one would benefit from the mandatory HIV testing of local prisoners. The comments followed suggestions on Tuesday from participants at a seminar hosted by the political think-tank the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) on the impact of HIV/AIDS on prisoners. ISS estimated AIDS-related deaths in South African prisons to have grown by 750 percent since 1995. "Despite the admitted rise in prevalence rates, mandatory HIV testing and the segregation of prisoners is out of the question," Department of Correctional Services (DCS) director of health, Maria Mabena told the UN news service PlusNews. Mabena said she would support mandatory testing if antiretroviral drugs were made available to prisoners who tested positive. "Prisoners are only treated for AIDS-related illnesses. There are no antiretroviral drugs available to prisoners," Mabena said.