Most HIV/AIDS cases identified too late: Survey
Most HIV/AIDS cases identified too late: Survey
JAKARTA (JP): A 1990 to 1996 survey shows that most cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) here are identified in the later stages, a physician said yesterday.
Zubairi Djoerban, chairman of the health non-governmental organization Pelita Ilmu, said this was due to medical personnel's poor knowledge of HIV/AIDS, including how to diagnose and prevent it.
"Most cases are detected after a patient had been in several hospitals," he said at a five-day training on HIV/AIDS treatment for medical staff.
The study was conducted by Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital's HIV/AIDS service. It looked at six hospitals between 1990 to 1996. Zubairi is involved with the service.
Medical personnel should know the clinical symptoms and infections related to the condition, he said.
This knowledge is also important so medical personnel can protect themselves while treating patients, he said.
He told medical personnel to take general precautions against HIV in the work place.
Medical staff without proper knowledge of HIV/AIDS could be infected with the condition and transmit it, he said.
"Facts show medical personnel here still lack knowledge of HIV/AIDS. This is one reason for the training," he said.
So far there have been no reports of medical personnel being infected during the course of their contact with HIV/AIDS patients, he said.
But there have been some cases in the United States, he said.
"Although medical personnel do not have a high-risk of contracting HIV, they should work cautiously while treating patients with HIV or full-blown AIDS," he said.
Poor knowledge has also led to discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients, as has been reported.
AIDS renders the body's immune system unable to resist invasion by microorganisms that cause serious infection.
HIV, which leads to AIDS, is commonly transmitted through sexual intercourse, blood transfusion and from mother to child during pregnancy and delivery, he told the workshop in Bekasi, West Java.
The latest official figures record 524 HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia, including 74 people who have died.
Jakarta has 164 reported cases. These include one AIDS and one HIV case found in March. Prior to this, official statistics recorded 61 AIDS cases and 101 HIV cases in the city.
The foundation said the last seven reported HIV/AIDS cases were found in Jakarta, Bali and North Sumatra. (03)