CAPE TOWN, Sept 18 (AFP) - A total of 1,101 South African prisoners died of HIV/AIDS in the first seven months of this year, an increase of 328 percent over the same period last year, Correctional Services Minister Ben Skosana said Tuesday.

Documentation provided by Skosana during a briefing of journalists and diplomats at Parliament showed that the number of prisoners known to be infected by HIV/AIDS at July 31 stood at 4,368 -- 36 percent more than the 3,209 a year earlier.

Personal and environmental hygiene within prisons is compromised by overcrowding, Skosana said, and a high turnover of awaiting-trial prisoners made it difficult to provide effective screening and treatment programmes.

Skosana said prisons were about 60 percent overcrowded, with 168,497 inmates sharing facilities meant for 105,016.

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