Four areas cautioned of possible spread of AIDS

Four areas cautioned of possible spread of AIDS

JAKARTA (JP): The ministry of health has put Jakarta, Merauke
in Irian Jaya, the Riau islands and Southeast Maluku under close
scrutiny due to a possible drastic growth of the Acquired Immuno-
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Speaking at the opening of a national work meeting here on
Wednesday, health minister Achmad Sujudi said the spread of the
disease in the four areas had reached an advanced stage.

The ministry recorded that as of October last year, 1,005
people were infected with the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV)
which leads to the deadly condition and 265 of them had full-
blown AIDS. Many believe the actual number could quintuple the
existing government data.

Separately, the Director General of Communicable Diseases and
Environmental Health, Umar Fahmi, told The Jakarta Post that the
four areas had an advanced infection pattern.

"The disease has spread extraordinarily in the areas through
the use of needles, based on the fact that 10 percent of the AIDS
carriers are drug abusers," Umar said.

AIDS normally spreads through sexual intercourse.

Umar said the capital was prone to the disease because of
changes in people's lifestyles and culture.

"Some people in the capital engage in high-risk sexual
practices," he said.

The other three areas, known as mining and transit sites, are
vulnerable to AIDS because of the high mobility of people and the
rise in sex services, he added.

Achmad remarked that in Indonesia, the AIDS epidemic was
caused by the lack of public awareness of condoms and rampant
narcotics abuse.

"The fact that Indonesia is surrounded by countries with large
numbers of HIV and AIDS carriers such as India, Thailand,
Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea also adds to the
susceptibility," he said.

He said one of the problems in detecting the condition was the
inadequate equipment and materials used to carry out blood tests.
The ministry, he added, intended to make sure all regency-level
hospitals were capable of detecting the virus.

Besides HIV and AIDS, Achmad said the ministry was watching
over other contagious diseases, namely malaria, dengue fever and
tuberculosis. (04)