Thursday, December 06, 2012

Those aged between 19 and 39 make up bulk of HIV cases

The Star Online

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 70% of HIV/AIDS cases are comprised of those aged between 19 and 39 years old, says the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC).
“Every year, one out of four new HIV cases reported in Malaysia involves a person aged between 13 and 29 years.
“Since 2011, transmission through sexual activity has overtaken what used to be the main driver for HIV in Malaysia, which was injecting drug users,” MAC president Datuk Dr Raj Karim said in her speech at an event to commemorate World AIDS Day 2012 here yesterday.
This year’s theme is “Getting to Zero: Zero Discrimination, Zero New HIV Infection, Zero AIDS Death”.
The Health Ministry’s director of infectious disease Dr Chong Chee Kheong, who launched the event, emphasised the Government’s com­mitment to tackle the spread of the disease.
“We are committed to providing more access to diagnosis, treatment, care and support for HIV patients.
“More than 16,000 people will be treated with anti-retroviral drugs by the end of this year, which is available for free to all HIV patients at government hospitals,” Dr Chong said.

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