OTTAWA — A new federal study reports that almost one in 20 federal prisoners is HIV positive, a rate that AIDS support groups say rivals many countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Correctional Service of Canada analysis, based on a survey of 3,370 prisoners in federal penitentiaries, says that 4.6 per cent of inmates said they had the virus and 31 per cent said they had hepatitis C.

While the report calls for better inmate education on risky behaviour, AIDS support networks used the study to renew calls for clean needle programs in prisons to reduce the spread of infectious diseases.

The rate of HIV is 15 times greater than in Canada as a whole, while hepatitis C is 39 per cent more prevalent, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network said in a news release.

The federal survey, conducted in 2007 and published last month, said that about half of prisoners reported sharing used needles or syringes to inject drugs and about one-third said they shared needles with someone who has HIV, hepatitis C or another infectious disease.

"This clearly poses a risk of HIV or hepatitis C transmission, a risk that could be remedied with prison-based needle and syringe programs," Sandra Ka Hon Chu, a senior policy analyst with the legal network, said in a statement.

The group said that Harper government policies for longer prison sentences will only "aggravate the public health crisis in federal prisons."

Greg Simmons, prisoner's representative for the Canadian Treatment Action Council, said he is concerned that prisoners are not always getting the anti-viral drugs they need.

The survey revealed that 60 per cent of HIV-infected prisoners reported "treatment interruptions" during incarceration.

"Any interruption in their regimen could have serious implications on their health, and lead to them becoming resistant to medications," he said.

The report said that prisoners could receive their drugs more consistently if treatments were not interrupted during transfers from one prison to another.

HIV support groups had previously estimated that the rate of hepatitis C in prisons is about 30 times higher than among the general population and the HIV/AIDS rate is about 10 times higher.

The latest federal figures suggest those estimates are low.