HIV/AIDS cases on the rise in South Sulawesi

The number of HIV/AIDS cases in South Sulawesi continues to increase from year to year, the South Sulawesi AIDS Commission (KPAD SulSel) said Wednesday.

"Up until the end of 2008, the number of those infected with HIV/AIDS was reportedly 2,370; however, we suspect it is more than that," KPAD data collector Raden Mulyati said.

She added that in 2007, a total of 1,884 people were reported to have contracted the deadly virus.

According to official hospital data, Mulyati said, up to 191 people had died of HIV/AIDS-related illnesses throughout 2008.

Makassar's Wahidin Sudirohusodo General Hospital reported that 40 inpatient had died of the disease last year; lower than the 2007 tally of 87 deaths. The total number of HIV/AIDS patients in Makassar up until late last year is 208.

The hospital's HIV/AIDS Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) team coordinator Mahmud told The Jakarta Post that 24 of the 208 patients were children aged 7 months to 3 years.

"There are three people enrolled in the mother-to-child transmission prevention program (PMTCT)," he said, adding that 11 of 47 people who volunteered in the VCT program had tested positive for the virus.

Intravenous drug use has so far been identified as the number one cause of infection.

"At least 60 percent of the total cases of HIV/AIDS infection is caused by risky drug use," Mahmud said. (amr)