Prison staff tell of disease fears

Patsy Moy

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Staff in the Correctional Services Department are calling for more medical protection, as frontline officers face health threats from inmates with highly contagious diseases, such as tuberculosis and HIV.

The avian flu scare in the region has added to their concerns, with prisons from time to time receiving inmates from the mainland and neighboring countries, where there have been reported outbreaks and human victims.

Correctional Services Officers Association junior section chairman Peter Chan Ba-tak said their worries are not unfounded, as figures show 1,523 illegal immigrants were imprisoned in Hong Kong last year. Sixty percent of those came from China, and a quarter from Vietnam - countries hit by bird flu.

Amid the bird flu scare, the department issued a reminder to staff on February 2, calling on them to stay alert.

This followed the discovery of carcasses of poultry in Sha Lo Wan on Lantau which were tested positive for H5N1.

Chan said his colleagues have beefed up disinfection in prisons to maintain good hygiene.

"We do not know the inmates' medical history, so we don't know who we should watch out for to avoid infection," he said.

Chan said his colleagues are aware of more inmates suffering from lung and respiratory ailments.

Although the health of inmates is kept confidential by law to protect their privacy, a rise in persistent coughing has been detected by the frontline officers.

The union does not rule out the likelihood that some inmates deliberately get arrested - especially those from outside Hong Kong - in order to receive free medical treatment.

The department insists there is no evidence showing cases of tuberculosis are on the rise in institutions.

They stood at 65 cases last year, compared to 68 in 2007.

There were 80 cases in 2006, 87 in 2005 and 53 in 2004.

But the department admitted that one staff member was diagnosed with tuberculosis last year, and another in 2007.

However, there is no evidence showing they contracted the disease at work.

For HIV, the disease that can lead to AIDS, the department admits that a few prisoners are carriers.