HIV cases up in West Kalimantan

HIV cases up in West Kalimantan

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: The Communicable Diseases Control Division at the West Kalimantan Health Office announced on Wednesday that the number of people recorded with HIV in the province in December last year revealed a sevenfold increase since the first cases were detected in 1999.

Agus Sunardi, the division chairman, said that as of May this year, 89 people were found infected with Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) in the province, eight of them had full-blown Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The first HIV cases were uncovered among Thai fishermen

Of the province's 10 regencies, only Landak, Sanggau and Kapuas Hulu remain free from HIV, according to Agus. Most cases had been found in Sambas, Singkawang and Pontianak.

He said most of the HIV positive people were aged between 15 and 20 years old.

Meanwhile, a 24-year-old HIV/AIDS patient in Singkawang Hospital committed suicide after being hospitalized for 11 days. The person, whose identity remains secret, used a blanket to hang themselves in the bathroom of the isolated ward. --Antara