Number of people with HIV/AIDS up

Number of people with HIV/AIDS up

JAKARTA: The number of people infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Indonesia jumped by 262 over the last three months of last year alone, an official said on Wednesday.

Director General of Communicable Disease Control and Environmental Health Umar Fahmi Achmadi said that out of the 262 people, 226 were HIV positive and 36 had developed AIDS.

The additional number raises the total number of people with HIV/AIDS from 1987 up to the present time to 2,575, Umar said, adding that of the entire number, 1,904 were HIV positive, while the remaining 671 had AIDS.

Umar explained that out of the 671 people with AIDS, 280 had already died. The highest number of AIDS cases were found in Jakarta (264 cases), followed by Irian Jaya (264), East Java (63), West Java (38), Bali (30) and Riau (15).

From the 226 HIV cases found in the period between October and December last year, 213 were from Jakarta, two from West Java, seven from Bali, three from Bengkulu and one from West Nusa Tenggara, he said.

He admitted that the new HIV/AIDS cases were found in government hospitals and others by private organizations and that those who were treated at home could not be detected.

The HIV/AIDS cases were found in 24 provinces throughout Indonesia, he said, adding that Central and North Sulawesi provinces had not given any reports on the cases.

In terms of gender, out of the 226 HIV cases, around 78.3 percent were male and the remainder female. -- Antara