An Australian man is believed to have contracted HIV while getting a tattoo during a visit to the resort island of Bali, prompting an investigation by Indonesian authorities. "We received a report about this case from the health ministry yesterday, and officials will be visiting tattoo parlors to verify this claim," said Nyoman Sutedja of the Bali health department. "We can't say for sure if the patient caught the virus from getting a tattoo or sexual contact." However, Gede Putra Suteja, chief of the Badung district health agency in the Kuta area, said there is a strong possibility the infection was transmitted by tattooing. "All the evidence points to a tattoo received recently in Bali as being the source of infection," said a statement from the Western Australia Department of Health. Kuta is home to many tattoo parlors, as well as to tattoo practitioners offering their services on the beaches. Indonesian officials said last year that HIV cases on Bali had jumped by almost 19 percent from the year before, and one out of four prostitutes reportedly are infected.

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