Five more HIV cases detected in May

JAKARTA (JP): Five more people carrying the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or suffering from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were identified last month, taking the total number of reported cases in Indonesia to 406.

All but one of the new suffers have full-blown AIDS, the Directorate General of Communicable Diseases Control said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Three of the new cases were found in Irian Jaya, one in Jakarta and the person with HIV lives in East Kalimantan.

All of the people with full-blown AIDS are Indonesians while the nationality of the person with HIV is still unknown.

The ministry's data showed that two of the people who have full-blown AIDS are women and the other two are men. All of them are heterosexual.

The national total now comprises 103 people with full-blown AIDS -- 63 of whom have died, and 303 HIV-positive people.

Jakarta still tops the list with 140 HIV and AIDS patients, Irian Jaya comes second with 105, Bali and East Java each have 33, Riau has 29 carriers and South Sumatra has 23 carriers.

HIV/AIDS cases have not yet been reported in Aceh, Bengkulu, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, East Timor, Jambi, Lampung, North Sulawesi, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi or Southeast Sulawesi.

The ministry routinely receives reports from regional and local health offices about the results of their AIDS and HIV monitoring. (31)