AMMAN, Oct 29, 2007 (AFP) - Jordan's health ministry said on Monday 542 people, including 179 Jordanians, have contracted the AIDS virus since the diagnosis of the first case in the desert kingdom in 1986.
Of the Jordanian cases, 85 people have died, said Bassam Hijawi, head of the ministry's HIV/AIDS control unit.
"Fifty new cases, including eight Jordanians, have been diagnosed in 2007. Jordan is one of the countries least affected by AIDS," Hijawi told a joint news conference with Nafis Sadik, the UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia.
But Sadik, a Pakistani, said the figures "are in fact the tip of the iceberg."
"The estimated cases in Jordan are considered low just like other countries in the region. But in the case of HIV/AIDS, 90 percent of those who are infected do not know that they are infected," Sadik told reporters.
"These numbers are drawn through estimates rather than actual figures."
Last year, the United Nations Development Programmes said around 720,000 people were living with HIV in the Arab region, with up to 210,000 infected adults and children alone. A new infection occurs every 10 minutes.
The UNDP considers the Arab region to be one of low prevalence compared to other countries in the African continent, but warns that if current trends continue, the region will face generalized epidemics by 2015.
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