Number of AIDS patients rises

BANDUNG: The West Java Health Office said on Monday the number of people in the province with AIDS jumped drastically from 23 in 1999 to 168 in 2000, a more than 700 percent increase.

In a written report submitted to the governor, the health office said the number of people infected with HIV, which leads to AIDS, increased from 13 in 1999 to 137 in 2000.

The head of the office's health resources department, Ilsa Nelwan, after handing over the report to Governor R. Nuriana, said "the real figures could be much higher".

The province allocated more than Rp 400 million for AIDS prevention programs last year.

He blamed the ignorance of people for the spread of the AIDS. "Many people think they will not be infected by the disease as long as they restrain from going to prostitutes."

Ilsa warned that the rising number of drug addicts and the drop in the quality of life following the prolonged economic crisis could increase the spread of HIV/AIDS.

"The cleanliness of syringes and other medical devices must also be questioned. Many doctors inject several patients with the same syringe for economic reasons," he said.

And many people cannot afford medical checkups, said Ilsan, who is also a lecturer at the School of Medicine at Padjadjaran University in Bandung. (25/sur)