JAKARTA, June 12, 2008 (AFP) - The number of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia's South Sulawesi province has more than doubled since 2006 due to an increase in intravenous drug use, a health ministry official said Thursday.
The provincial health office recorded 1,260 HIV/AIDS cases in 2006-2007 compared to 583 from 1996-2005, local official Raden Muliati told AFP.
"The increase during the last few years is due to the rising level of drug use in the province," she said, adding that some 70 percent of cases were contracted through the use of dirty needles.
Indonesia has the fastest-growing HIV/AIDS infection rate in Southeast Asia, according to the United Nations.
Indonesia had recorded a total of 11,868 cases of AIDS as of March last year, compared to 6,987 in 2006 or an increase of 69.8 percent in just one year, health ministry figures show.
One of the worst-hit regions of the country is the eastern province of Papua, where 1,553 cases of AIDS had been recorded by the end of 2007.
080612
AF080616
Copyright ©AFP 2008. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Gill Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Quest Diagnostics, Roche and Trimeris, and donations from users like you.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. This article first appeared in 2008. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2008. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.