Florida Among Leaders in Inmate AIDS Deaths

In 2001 -- the most recent year for which federal statistics are available -- Florida led the nation for AIDS deaths in prison: 39. Texas was second (32), followed by New York (28). Together, the three states accounted for half of all HIV-infected inmates in the United States. The HIV-infected inmate population stands at 5,500 in New York, 2,602 in Florida, and 2,388 in Texas.

Since 1995, when new AIDS drugs became available, the AIDS death rate in prisons nationwide has dropped from 100 per 100,000 inmates in 1995 to 20 per 100,000 in 2001. Florida's inmate AIDS deaths fell from 150 in 1995 to just three so far in 2004.

Concurrently, however, the cost of treating HIV-infected prisoners in Florida has grown to $10.1 million per year -- about one-quarter of the state Department of Corrections' (DOC) budget for all drugs.

Because the HIV test is not mandatory for Florida inmates and DOC will test only those who request it, Florida officials do not know how many prisoners have HIV. Under a state law passed two years ago, inmates leaving prison must be tested and are given a one-month supply of AIDS drugs if they are HIV-positive. About 4.1 percent of Florida's 77,000 prisoners -- or 3,226 inmates with HIV and 538 with AIDS -- are HIV-infected. According to the US Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, this is more than double the national average of 2 percent for state prisoners.

The number of infected female prisoners is always higher, due primarily to illegal drug use, prostitution and other hazardous lifestyles. In 2001, 9.3 percent of Florida's female inmates were HIV-positive, compared to 3.2 percent of male prisoners.

Florida inmates learn about HIV/AIDS from a peer education program. They are taught how HIV is transmitted and how to avoid it, the stages of HIV infection, and the benefits of antiretroviral therapy for slowing the disease.

Back to other news for July 12, 2004