‘Promiscuous sex new cause of HIV/AIDS transmission in country’
BALIK PULAU: A total of 108,519 cases of HIV and AIDS have been recorded in the country from 1986 till last year, with Selangor comprising 26 per cent of them.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said promiscuous sex, including those involving people of the same gender had been identified as the cause of new HIV and AIDS cases in the country.
“Before, the majority of AIDS caseswere duetosharingofneedles. We conducted programmes to give out free needles to those at risk via various means, including through non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
“Today, it is different. Many new HIV and AIDS cases are due to promiscuous sex,” he said during a press conference after the launch of the Penang state-level 2017 World AIDS Day event here yesterday.
Dr Hilmi said of the cumulative total, 62.68 per cent of cases were attributed to drug users who shared needles, while 27.96 per cent were from sexual intercourse, and the rest from mother to child transmissions.
According to him, men accounted for 88 per cent of all cases in the country, while women comprised 11 per cent, and children, one per cent.
“This shows that HIV and AIDS are still a threat to the residents in the country. In terms of HIV transmission, sex and drug addiction are the major causes, which means both these social problems have to be dealt with,” he said.
However, Dr Hilmi said the rate of HIV and AIDS infection in the country showed a decline last year with 10.5 cases per 100,000 of the population, below the set target of 11 cases. — Bernama