Governor concerned by HIV in province

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: Governor Freddy Numberi expressed his concern on Tuesday with the growing number of people infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the province.

Citing a report from the Ministry of Health, the governor said there were 246 people infected with HIV/AIDS as Aug. 31, the most of any province in the country.

Jakarta has the second most HIV/AIDS infections with 243.

He lamented that most of those infected were younger people who were infected through sexual intercourse.

He urged health officials to intensify their awareness campaign because many people still did not have adequate knowledge about the danger of HIV/AIDS.

"Unprotected sex must be limited," the governor was quoted by Antara as saying. (prb)