34 percent of city's transvestites are HIV positive: Survey

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 10/13/2008 8:01 PM  |  Health

Thirty-four percent of transvestites in the city are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, a survey revealed on Monday.

According to the Biology and Behavior Survey (STBP), the numbers of HIV infection among the transvestite community in Jakarta have steadily risen since 1995, when only 0.3 percent were reportedly HIV-positive.

The Health Ministry previously reported that there were 20,960 to 25,300 transvestites in the country in 2006.
    
STBP also reported that HIV prevalency among transvestites were also high in Bandung and Surabaya, where it reached 14 percent and 25.2 percent, respectively.

"These findings are significant as the numbers are among the highest in Asia in the last few years," Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the director for disease control and environmental health, said at the publication of the survey.

The 2007 STBP survey also revealed that the majority of transvestites were sex workers, many of whom were also listed as being in stable relationships with non-sex worker males.

Tjandra added that condom usage has proven inconsequential in preventing the spread of the disease within the transvestite community and that more members have received counseling and HIV testing offers in recent years.

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