Govt’s high commitment helps reduce HIV/AIDS cases
THE government’s high commitment, including in introducing the premarital Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) test for Muslim couples, has given significant contribution to the decline in the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr HilmiYahaya said the latest statistics showed that between January and June this year, only 1,702 new HIV cases (11.5 cases for every 100,000 population) were recorded compared to 6,978 cases (28.5/100,000) recorded in 2002.
“The government aims at seeing the number of such cases to continue to decline to 11 cases for every 100,000 population in 2015,” he said in reply to V Sivakumar (DAP-Batu Gajah) during question time yesterday.
Sivakumar had wanted to know the number of HIV cases reported since 1986, the number of deaths due to AIDS as at Sept 30 according to age and gender, and the pattern of HIV/AIDS infection in the country.
Dr Hilmi said as at December last year, the cumulative figure for HIV cases was 98,279, while the figure for AIDS was 19,047 and deaths due to HIV/AIDS was 15,688 cases.
“It is estimated that as at June 2013, the number of people living with HIV are 83,995. Cumulatively, most of them (80 per cent) are men,” he said.
Dr Hilmi said since the year 2000, the pattern of HIV infection had also moved to those between the aged of 20 and 39 from those aged between 30 and 39 as recorded from 1986 to the 1990s.
Source: Bernama
Published: 29 Oct 2013
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