A prison where health is the priority(2)

Staff send lunch to inmates with HIV and AIDS. Feng Yongbin / China Daily

Xi knows his disease is serious and, upon his release in May, further medicine and treatment will be provided by Beijing Yo'An Hospital.

"It will be hard for me to find a job," he said. "There is prejudice about the disease, but the medical aid has given me great comfort."

Wu Zunyou, director of the National Center for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Disease Control and Prevention, said separating sick inmates is being explored in other areas, such as Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

"It's a better way to provide professional services and treatment, but it sticks a 'label' on them," he said.

He Jianzhu, who has syphilis. was jailed for killing a man in 2003. He recounted how he was in such bad condition in 2005 that he even wrote farewell letters and applied for euthanasia.

"I could see how shocked people were when they looked at me," he recalled. However, the prison guards did not give up, and they arranged for specialist medical care.

The professionalism and care of Shen Huan, head of the tuberculosis ward, saved his life. He said the correctional officer saw him through the bad times and was there for him.

"No one took as much care of me," He said. "It's because of Shen I'm here today."

Shen, 34, used to work in the only section for healthy inmates, but in 2007 he was dispatched to the sick ward.

"Just a short distance, but it was like going from heaven to hell," he said.

He did not tell his wife until three months later.

"She asked me to apply to be transferred back and became upset," Shen recalled.

Li Fei, a correctional officer in the HIV and AIDS section, said his girlfriend knows about his work, but he conceded he does not mention it to anyone else except close friends.

"I'm grateful for her understanding. There is a lot of discrimination on the outside," he said.

Names of HIV-infected inmates have been changed on request from the prison.