HC Deb 12 December 1988 vol 143 cc464-5W
Mr. Bermingham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male and female prisoners in England and Wales have been found to have contracted the human immunodeficiency virus since monitoring commenced in March 1985.

Mr. Douglas Hogg

Two hundred and eleven cases (181 male, and 30 female) have been reported up to and including 8 December 1988. There is no evidence in any of the cases that the infection was acquired after the prisoner came into custody.

Mr. Bermingham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male and female prisoners in England and Wales have contracted acquired immunodeficiency syndrome since monitoring commenced in March 1985.

Mr. Douglas Hogg

Three cases had been reported up to and including 8 December 1988. All were male. The prisoners concerned have since been released. In each case the infection appeared to have been acquired before the prisoner came into custody.

Mr. Bermingham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have contracted either human immuno-deficiency virus, acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome or hepatitis B since March 1985 in the following prison establishments(a) Birmingham, (b) Lindholme, (c) Pentonville, (d) Wakefield, (e) Wandsworth, (f) Liverpool, (g) Maidstone, (h) Brixton, (i) Cardiff, (j) Manchester, (k) Wormwood Scrubs, (l) Parkhurst, (m) Long Lartin, (n) Reading, (o) Hull, (p) Leeds and (q) Leicester.

Mr. Douglas Hogg

The available information, shown in the table, relates to cases reported between March 1985 and 30 November 1988 (HIV antibody positive and AIDS cases) and between April 1985 and March 1988 (hepatitis B cases in the acute and carrier states). There is no evidence from the central monitoring of cases in categories (a) and (b) that any of the prisoners concerned acquired the infection in prison. Cases in categories (c) and (d) are not similarly monitored.

Establishment (a) (b) (c) (d)
HIV Antibody Positive1 AIDS1 2 Hepatitis B (Acute)3 Hepatitis B (Carrier)3
Birmingham 8 1 9 10
Lindholme — — 3 1
Pentonville 12 — 7 15
Wakefield 1 — 1 4
Wandsworth 12 1 6 44
Liverpool — — 29 35
Maidstone 1 — — 1
Brixton 29 — 4 14
Cardiff 1 — 11 7
Manchester 7 — 82 18
Wormwood Scrubs 8 1 1 19
Parkhurst — — 5 3
Long Lartin — — — 11
Reading 3 — — 7
Hull 1 — — 9
Leeds 5 — 61 43
Leicester 1 — 10 5
1 Cases in columns (a) and (b) have been allocated to the establishment at which the identification was first made.
2 There is no reported case of AIDS in the prison population of England and Wales at present.
3 In columns (c) and (d) the figures for Maidstone and Wandsworth are for two years only. Statistics for 1985–86 are not available.