AIDS/HIV cases increase to 420

AIDS/HIV cases increase to 420

JAKARTA (JP): The ministry of health reported yesterday that
13 more HIV/AIDS cases have been detected, bringing the official
number of cases in Indonesia to 420.

Hadi Marjanto A, the ministry's director general for the
eradication of communicable diseases and environmental
sanitation, said that the 13 cases were detected in blood samples
over a one-month period.

All 13 with the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus or the Acquired
Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome are heterosexual, the official told
Antara in Denpasar. Only six of the 13 people have traceable
addresses, which are in Jakarta, North Sumatra and Irian Jaya

The fast spreading illness should prompt the public,
especially sex workers, to practice safe sex and avoid
promiscuity, he said.

In Semarang, Minister of Health Sujudi told The Jakarta Post
that 63 people have died of AIDS in Indonesia.

He said that the actual number of people with HIV or AIDS
could be 100 times higher than reported because only a small
number of people have had their blood tested.

Sujudi said that if AIDS is not properly controlled here, up
to 2.5 million people could be infected by the year 2000, which
breaks down to an estimated 150 people contracting it every day.
He added that 86 percent of the cases here contracted HIV/AIDS
through sexual intercourse.

"When Indonesia has 2.5 million people with HIV/AIDS, the
country will have to spend over Rp 32 trillion (US$13 billion) a
year to get the epidemic under control," he said.

The minister called for public's assistance in curbing the
spread of AIDS, for which a cure has yet to be found. (pan/har)