At least 5,866 examinations were conducted last year in medical institutions of the State Penitentiary Service of Kyrgyzstan to identify infectious diseases among the convicts. It was reported at a board meeting of the state service.
According to their data, 195 people with hepatitis C and 47 people infected with hepatitis B were detected in 2024 among convicts held in correctional institutions.
Earlier, the Department of State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance reported that the incidence of acute viral hepatitis in Kyrgyzstan increased 2.6 times based on the results of 11 months of last year. The increase is associated with a growth in the incidence of viral hepatitis A. During this period, 17,902 cases were registered. There is also an increase in the incidence of newly diagnosed chronic viral hepatitis by 14.7 percent.
Viral hepatitis is a group of acute and chronic viral liver diseases caused by hepatitis viruses. These viruses cause liver inflammation, the outcome of which can be either complete recovery or the development of fibrosis (cirrhosis), hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) and death.