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HIV/AIDS cases on the rise in Sarawak, state assembly told

KUCHNG: Sarawak has reported 210 new Human Immunodeficiency Viral Infection (HIV) cases, 104 Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) cases and 46 HIV/AIDS-related deaths, in the first 10 months of the year.

The reported rate of new HIV cases in the state showed an increased from 3.3 per 100,000 populations in 2004 to 7.8 per 100,000 populations this year.

State Local Government Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian said this was the reverse of the trend seen in the Peninsular.

“Majority of the HIV cases in the state are transmitted through sexual contact with infected person, mainly from heterosexual (sex between woman and man) transmission.

“It contributed more than half of the new HIV cases last year (122 cases or 58 per cent),” he said.

“However, what’s more worrying now is the HIV transmission due to homosexual (sex between man and man) is also on the rise,” he added.

Homosexual transmission, he said, contributed almost half of the new cases (86 cases or 41 percent), said Sim when delivering his winding up speech at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly complex.

The magnitude of HIV/ AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections is a proxy of other underlying issues.

Hence, Sim said, multi-agency collaboration and commitment are required to tackle the problem.

Kuching, will be the first city in the state to embark on the “Project Getting to Zero HIV”, which seen as a great platform to bring both government and non-governmental organisations to work together.

The capital, he said, will also be the host for the national-level “World AIDS Day 2016” which will be held on next Thursday (Dec 8).

-NST ONline

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