Mexico rights body faults prison in 13 hepatitis deaths

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission says a lack of security and drug treatment programs at a state prison led to an outbreak of hepatitis that killed 13 inmates last year.

The commission said Tuesday that its investigation found that heroin was smuggled into the prison, where inmates used homemade needles to inject it. Officials were also slow to react when the illness began spreading, even when they began finding jaundiced inmates.

The commission says there were 13 deaths at the prison from November 2015 through January 2016.

It recommends more attention to drug treatment for inmates and tightened security to keep drugs out of the prison.