Tags
prisoners, prisons, tbTB in prisons in the public eye
Kim Johnson
31 August 2012
This week The New Age drew attention to the lack of TB prevention measures in South Africa’s prisons through its coverage of Dudley Lee’s court case.
Although the main aim of the article was to report on the case itself, it has undoubtedly dragged the Department of Correctional Services’ failure to provide adequate health care to prisoners into public view.
According to the article, human rights violations and shocking conditions run on unchecked in South Africa’s prisons because they are institutions on the fringes of society.
Lee alleges that he contracted TB as an awaiting trial prisoner due to negligence on the part of the department, which has subsequently admitted that it has no TB infection control measures in place.
According to a report that investigated conditions in Pollsmoor prison where Lee was held, the shocking and unsanitary conditions are ideal for the spread of TB and “result in annual TB transmission risks of 90%”.
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