HIV Cases Among Latvian Prisoners More than Doubles

The number of HIV-positive inmates in Latvian prisons more than doubled this year, officials said, prompting calls for more spending to slow the spread of the virus. Roberts Girgensons, deputy director of the Latvian prison administration's medical department, said 453 prisoners currently have HIV, a 130 percent increase over the 197 HIV-positive prisoners at the end of last year. Latvia's prison system held 8,617 people on December 14. With spending for Latvia's National AIDS Prevention Center having remained at the same level since 1993, more money needs to be spent to slow the spread of the disease said the center's deputy director, Inga Upmerce. In the general population in Latvia, the number of HIV patients increased 86 percent this year to 1,745, according to official figures.

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