The most common diseases among the prisoners are: gastrointestinal diseases (amoebic dysentery, bacillary dysentery and diarrhoea), jaundice (viral and amoebic hepatitis) and skin diseases. The sources of transmission of the infection are poor sanitation, a lack of personal hygiene (particularly because of poor water supplies), unclean and semi-cooked food, dirty kitchens and polluted surroundings.

Owing to drug abuse, there is also a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in prisons. Prisoners are always afraid to get injections in the jail hospital because of AIDS. When administering injections, the doctors give only half or less than half of the phial to one patient, giving the rest to another patient from the same needle and syringe, this almost guaranteeing that any blood-carried infections will spread. This means that the doctors can get away with using less medicine per patient.

Corruption is a part of everyday life in Burma and political prisoners are able to bribe some prison guards in order to gain access to educational material, medicine and continue communication with society.