590 recorded HIV positive

JAKARTA (JP): The number of people who have tested positive for the HIV virus in Indonesia rose 2 percent to 590 last month but the real number could be 59,000, an official said.

Antara quoted Dr. Hadi M. Abednego as saying on Saturday that 12 new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases had been monitored by the Ministry of Health over the past month.

The new figure included one in Jakarta and two on the tourist island of Bali, Hadi, who is the director general for the department for the prevention of communicable diseases in the ministry, said.

He said the real number of HIV cases in Indonesia was about 100 times higher than the detected number and in 90 percent of cases the virus was transmitted by sexual contact.

There have been 81 deaths related to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Indonesia, Hadi said, adding that 308 -- or more than half -- of HIV cases were concentrated in the remote areas of Maluku and Irian Jaya.

The two provinces harbor bases for large fishing operations which employ foreigners, mostly Taiwanese and Thais.

The AIDS virus attacks the human body's immune system, rendering it defenseless against infection. (swe)