29 new HIV/AIDS cases recorded in December

29 new HIV/AIDS cases recorded in December

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia recorded 29 new HIV/AIDS cases last
month, according to official statistics.

The directorate general for communicable diseases said in a
press statement that 25 HIV cases and four full-blown AIDS cases
had been reported in December 1999.

The cases were reported by the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI)
branches in Malang (3 cases), Surakarta (1), Bukittinggi (1),
Lampung (1) and Jakarta (19) and the rest were reported by
hospitals.

Throughout 1999, the HIV cases rose by 178 cases and AIDS by
47. Since the first case was reported in April 1987, the health
ministry has recorded 769 HIV cases and 274 full-blown AIDS
cases.

The figures are widely believed to be only the tip of the
iceberg.

Separately, director general for communicable diseases control
Umar Fahmi Achmadi, estimated some 10 percent of the 29 new
people with HIV/AIDS were drug users.

Fahmi said that syringes could not now be obtained without a
doctor's prescription, which likely results in drug users having
to share needles. The same syringe may be used several times by
different people who are either unaware or unconcerned the re-
used syringe spreads the virus that causes AIDS and other
diseases, he said as quoted by Kompas daily.

The government, he said, is considering medical experts'
proposals for the supply of disposable syringes to drug addicts
who are undergoing rehabilitation programs but have not been able
to kick the habit.

Fahmi admitted that the government had yet to adopt more
reliable methods for data collection of the number of people
with HIV/AIDS. He said the immense size of Indonesia's population
living in numerous and remote locations was a major constraint.
(pan)