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HIV in Prisons, 2006Laura M. Maruschak, BJS Statistician
Press release | PDF format (328K) This web page provides the number of state and federal inmates who were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or had confirmed AIDS at yearend 2006. Presented in the report is the number of AIDS-related deaths in prisons, a profile of those inmates who died, the number of female and male prisoners who were HIV positive, and circumstances under which inmates were tested for HIV. Findings are based on yearend 2006 data from the National Prisoner Statistics series. NCJ 222179 Highlights
HIV infection by region and stateOn December 31, 2006, 20,450 state prisoners were HIV positive or had confirmed AIDS, down from 21,084 in 2005. At yearend 2006, the Northeast reported the largest percentage of HIV/AIDS cases based on its custody population (3.6%). Half of all HIV/AIDS cases were held in the South, nearly a third in the Northeast, and about a tenth in both the Midwest and the West. Three states—North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming—held fewer than 10 HIV-positive inmates in their prisons. Six states reported that less than 0.5% of their inmate population was HIV positive. Between 2005 and 2006, 16 states and the federal prison system reported a decrease in the number of HIV-positive inmates; 25 states reported an increase.At yearend 2006, less than 1% (1,530) of all federal inmates were reported to be HIV positive or to have confirmed AIDS. Between 2005 and 2006, the percentage of HIV/AIDS cases in the federal system decreased slightly from 1% to 0.9%. HIV infection by genderOn December 31, 2006, an estimated 21,980 state and federal inmates (male 19,842; female 2,138) were known to be HIV positive or to have confirmed AIDS. This number was down for male inmates and up for female inmates from 2005.New York (3,650) reported the largest number of male HIV-positive inmates, followed by Florida (3,041), and Texas (2,409). Florida (371) reported the largest number of female HIV-positive inmates, followed by New York (350), and Texas (284). One state—New York (6%)—reported that over 5% of its male inmate population was known to be HIV positive. Three states—New York (12.2%), Florida (7.6%), and New Jersey (7.6%)—reported that over 5% of their female inmates were HIV positive. Confirmed AIDS casesAt yearend 2006, a reported 5,674 inmates in state (5,018) and federal (656) prisons reported having confirmed AIDS, up from 5,422 in 2005. Confirmed AIDS cases made up 0.5% of those in state prisons and 0.4% of those in federal prisons. More than a quarter (26%) of inmates known to be HIV positive were reported to have confirmed AIDS. For states that did not provide a breakdown of the number of HIV cases by type of infection, estimates of the number of confirmed AIDS cases were made to provide comparable year-to-year data. Based on yearly estimates, the number of confirmed AIDS cases increased from 5,620 in 2005 to 5,977 in 2006. Massachusetts and New York reported the highest percentage of confirmed AIDS (both 1.3%), followed by Maryland (1.2%) and North Carolina (1.1%). In four states—Maine, Kansas, West Virginia, and Wyoming—confirmed AIDS comprised less than 0.05% of state inmates. Maine and Wyoming reported having no confirmed AIDS cases. AIDS-related deathsDuring 2006, an estimated 155 state inmates died from AIDS-related causes, down from 176 in 2005. Of those 155 deaths, 148 were male inmates and 7 were female inmates. More than three-quarters (77%) of AIDS-related deaths were among state inmates age 35 to 54. Black non-Hispanic inmates accounted for nearly three-quarters (74%) of state inmates who died from AIDS-related causes. AIDS-related deaths as a percent of total deaths in state prisons decreased significantly between 1995 and 2006, from 34.2% to 4.6%. Over a slightly different time period (1995 to 2005, the most recent year for which data are available), AIDS-related deaths as a percent of all deaths in the general population declined from 12.9% to 3.8%. Between 2001 and 2005, the rate of AIDS-related deaths among prison inmates as a percent of all deaths in the prison population was nearly cut in half (from 10.3% to 5.3%). However, the rate in the general population remained stable at about 4%. Between 1995 and 2001, the rate of AIDS-related deaths in State prison declined from 100 deaths per 100,000 inmates to 25 per 100,000. In the general population the rate dropped from 29 per 100,000 to 9 per 100,000 persons ages 15 to 54. After 2001, while the rate of AIDS-related deaths in the State prison population declined, from 25 to 11 per 100,000 inmates in 2006, the rate in the general population ages 15 to 54 declined from 9 to 6 deaths per 100,000 persons in 2006. Among federal inmates, 12 died from AIDS-related causes in 2006, down from 27 in 2005. For every 100,000 federal inmates, 6 died from AIDS-related causes. AIDS-related deaths accounted for less than 4% of all deaths in federal prisons. HIV testing in prisonsIn 2006, 21 states reported testing all inmates for HIV at admission or sometime while in custody. Forty-seven states and the federal system reported testing inmates if they have HIV-related symptoms or if they requested an HIV-test. Forty states and the federal system test inmates after they are involved in an incident in which an inmate is exposed to a possible HIV transmission, and 16 states and the federal system test inmates who belong to specific “high-risk” groups. Missouri, Alabama, Florida, Texas, and Nevada test all inmates for HIV upon their release. North Dakota, Idaho, and Nevada test all inmates while in custody. New York, Nevada, Arkansas, Oregon, and the federal system test inmates selected at random. Statistical tablesTable 1. Inmates in custody of state or federal prison authorities and reported to be positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or to have confirmed AIDS, 2004-2006. Methodology
AIDS in the U.S. resident population AIDS-related deaths in the United States For 2001 to 2005, AIDS-related deaths were calculated as a percent of all deaths among persons ages 15 to 54 in the U.S. general population. The difference of the national estimate of AIDS deaths of persons ages 15 to 54 minus AIDS-related deaths of persons ages 15 to 54 in state prison was divided by the national mortality estimates of persons ages 15 to 54 minus total deaths in state prisons. Related publicationsHIV in Prisons, 2005, 09/07. Provides the number of HIV-positive and active AIDS cases among state and federal prisoners at yearend 2005. NCJ 218915
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