590 recorded HIV positive

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)