East Timor worries about AIDS

DILI, East Timor: The province is gearing up to halt the spread of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which may be spread by the hundreds of prostitutes entering from other regions.

Although tests on blood samples from prostitutes for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have so far been negative, the situation is feared to change in the future as prostitutes are streaming in. In Dili alone there are 400 prostitutes.

The local government has announced it will establish a special committee in charge of controlling the spread of AIDS at provincial and regency levels.

Most of the prostitutes come from East and West Java, Maluku and Irian Jaya. Some are suspected of being HIV-positive.

Samuel Munaiseche of the provincial health office said the province currently has a very low AIDS awareness, making it all the more susceptible to the disease. (yac/pwn)