More than 500 inmates have tuberculosis in Ecuador

Ecuador's Ministry of Public Health denied today that inmates have died from tuberculosis in the country's prisons, although the government agency acknowledged that there are more than 500 infected inmates.
 
 
In a statement released Tuesday, the Ministry specified that, in the Litoral Penitentiary alone, the largest in the country located in Guayaquil, there are 565 inmates receiving treatment for tuberculosis.

Regarding the prisoners found dead last Friday at that detention center, authorities stated that “none of them were part of the tuberculosis strategy nor were they identified as positive in the mass screenings carried out there.”

“The causes of this unfortunate event are still being investigated, and the respective autopsies are being performed,” said the National Service for the Care of Persons Deprived of Liberty (SNAI), which ruled out a riot at the Penitentiary.

Nationwide, there are 1,115 cases of tuberculosis undergoing full treatment, the Ministry of Health detailed.

For its part, the Guayaquil Emergency Operations Committee (COE) called a meeting of the health technical committee this Tuesday to determine whether it is necessary to request the implementation of an epidemiological cordon at the Litoral Penitentiary.

Municipal authorities asked the SNAI and the Armed Forces to report on the protocols being applied to prevent the increase in infections.

The Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDH) of Guayaquil requested the declaration of a health crisis at the Litoral Penitentiary, the largest in Ecuador, where they claim an epidemic exists.

Ecuador’s prisons have remained under military control since President Daniel Noboa declared an internal armed conflict in January 2024 to confront criminal gangs linked to drug trafficking.