Health officials respond to AIDS threat in Irian Jaya
Health officials respond to AIDS threat in Irian Jaya
Markus Mardius, The Jakarta Post, Timika
Some 14 of 168 HIV positive people in Mimika regency, Papua, have
contracted the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS),
according to a local health official.
Erens Meokbun, head of the sexually transmitted diseases
section at the local health office, told The Jakarta Post most of
those infected with AIDS were women who worked as prostitutes in
a red-light district near a foreign mining company in Mimika.
"All 14 of the AIDS patients are continuing to make visits to
the public health center and a hospital in the regency," he said.
Erens said that of 154 people in the regency that had tested
positive for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), almost 80
percent showed symptoms of HIV, while the other 20 percent had
syphilis or gonorrhea.
He said half of those who were HIV positive were Papuans,
many of them employed by the mining company.
The HIV/AIDS cases were detected thanks to the increasing
number of local people visiting the public health center and
hospital for medical checkups, Erens said.
"Many people went in for checkups after the local health
office launched an AIDS awareness campaign in villages, areas
known for prostitution, the mining company and entertainment
centers in the regency," he said, adding that many of those with
AIDS had contracted the syndrome because of ignorance.
Erens declined to blame the presence of the mining company for
the HIV/AIDS cases, but said it had something to do with the
presence of job seekers in the area and the sexual habits of
Papuan men.
He said his office would continue the AIDS awareness campaign
to help prevent the syndrome from spreading.
He said Mimika was ranked second behind Merauke for the number
of HIV/AIDS cases in the province.
The total number of people infected with HIV/AIDS nationwide
is estimated at about 3,000.
The spread of HIV/AIDS in the province has been partly blamed
on the foreign fishermen operating in the area.