30 die of AIDS in East Java

30 die of AIDS in East Java

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

The death toll from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
cases in East Java has now officially reached 30.

East Java Deputy Governor Imam Supardi said there has been an
increase in HIV/AIDS cases because of local people's lack of
awareness.

According to data at the local health office, there have been
423 HIV/AIDS cases reported and 30 have so far died. There was no
detailed data on the spread of the disease.

Imam, also chairman of the Anti-drug and -HIV/AIDS Movement
Month in the province, said the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the
province have increased by between 400 percent and 500 percent
since 1999.

"In 1999, only three new cases were discovered every month but
from 2000 to May 2002, almost eight new cases were discovered
every month. Eighty percent of the cases were transferred through
sexual contact, and 12.5 percent through sharing needles," he
said.

Nationally, the province has the second highest number of
HIV/AIDS cases after Irian Jaya, while Jakarta and Riau are third
and fourth.

Imam added the local office of the Anti-drug organization has
also noted a decrease in the number of drug abuse cases to 388 in
2001 from 407 in 2000.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri is scheduled to launch a
nationwide anti-drug and HIV/AIDS awareness movement on
Wednesday. All motorists in the province have been asked to keep
their headlamps on all day long to mark the launch.