DUSHANBE, September 7 (RIA Novosti) - A total of 35 people have died of tuberculosis since the beginning of the year in Tajik prisons, a prison service official told journalists Wednesday.
The figure was 33 for the same period last year.
"The total number of registered TB-infected prisoners in Tajikistan reached 1,600 people," Bakhrom Abdulkhakov said, before adding that there were 92 prisoners infected with AIDS and several others suffering from syphilis.
Abdulkhakov said the prison service, the Health Ministry and international organizations were conducting work to prevent and treat TB and AIDS. "The main problem is overcrowded prisons," he said.
Earlier Tajik Justice Minister Khalifabobo Khamidov told media that the state's economic problems hindered the construction of new correctional facilities with separate cells instead of common cells for up to one hundred.
