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New cases of HIV infection reported in
first 10 months of 2005 |
AIDS is a multi-faceted problem which
requires collaborative efforts from various parties so as to prevent the
progressive rise in numbers. |
In the first 10 months of this year, another
198 Singaporeans were detected to be HIV infected. About 90 per cent of
the new cases detected this year were males and 10 per cent were
females. |
Sexual transmission remains the main mode of
HIV transmission among Singaporeans. Of the 198 cases reported in the
first 10 months of 2005, 193 cases acquired the infection through the
sexual route, with heterosexual transmission accounting for 69 per cent
of infections, homosexual transmission 26 per cent and bisexual
transmission 3 per cent. |
Intravenous drug use (2 cases) and perinatal
transmission (3 cases) accounted for the remaining 2 per cent. Among
those who acquired the infection through the sexual route, 90 per cent
had sexual exposure to prostitutes (locally and overseas) and/or casual
partners. |
Those aged between 30 to 49 years of age
accounted for about 57 per cent of all new cases reported in the first
10 months of 2005. |
Those aged between 50 to 59 years accounted
for 17 per cent, while those aged 20 to 29 years accounted for another
14 per cent of cases. Approximately, 57 per cent were single, while 29
per cent were married, 12 per cent were divorced and 2 per cent were
widowed. |
Total number of HIV infected Singaporeans |
This brings the total number of HIV infected
Singaporeans including 25 children to 2584 as of Oct 2005 (Table 1). Of
these, 999 are asymptomatic carriers, 631 have full-blown AIDS and 954
have died. |
Heterosexual transmission has been the most
common mode of HIV transmission among Singaporeans since 1991 (Table 2).
Most of these cases contracted the infection through casual sex and sex
with prostitutes in Singapore and overseas. |
The majority of HIV infected Singaporeans
are male with 2285 cases; 299 are female (Table 3), giving a sex ratio
of eight males to one female. Among the males, 60 per cent were single
at the point of diagnosis. For the females, however, the majority (61
per cent) were married. |
About 84 per cent are Chinese, 8 per cent
Malays, 5 per cent Indians and 3 per cent members of other ethnic groups
(Table 4). |
About 19 per cent of the HIV infected
Singaporeans were working in the sales and service sector and another 17
per cent were production craftsman and plant/machine assemblers (Table
6). See Table 5 for HIV infected Singaporeans by age and sex. |
AIDS Business Alliance formed to fight
AIDS bias in the workplace |
To encourage more companies to implement
HIV/AIDS education and prevention programmes, the Ministry of Health (MOH)
and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) are actively engaging the support
of the business community in Singapore through the formation of an AIDS
Business Alliance. |
The business community together with the
National Trade Unions Congress (NTUC), the Singapore National Employees
Federation (SNEF) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) can play a
crucial role in preventing HIV/AIDS by educating employers, employees
and their families about the disease. To date, the alliance had been
well received by several businesses that were willing to help promote
workplace education on AIDS. |
The Ministry would like to emphasise that
AIDS is a problem which requires collaborative efforts from various
parties. Workplace education is one effective way of spreading AIDS
education and removing the stigma associated with AIDS patients in
workplaces. |
MINISTRY'S ADVICE |
AIDS is not transmitted through normal day
to day contacts with a HIV infected person, be it at home, in school or
at the workplace. The AIDS virus has to go directly into your
bloodstream before it can infect you. Thus you cannot get AIDS from
coughs, sneezes, shaking hands, hugging, sharing of food and cutlery,
sharing of toilets, etc. |
The Ministry would like to emphasise that
the only way to avoid AIDS is to remain faithful to one's spouse/partner
and to avoid casual sex and sex with prostitutes. A HIV infected person
looks and feels normal during the early stage of the infection. It is
therefore not possible to tell if a person is infected or not by looking
at his/her appearance. |
Persons who engage in high-risk behaviour
i.e. multiple sexual partners, casual sex or sex with prostitutes, are
advised to use condoms to reduce their risk of HIV infection. |
Persons who have unprotected sex while
engaging in high-risk behaviour are very likely to acquire AIDS and
should undergo regular HIV testing so that the disease is detected as
early as possible. It is a criminal offence for persons who know that
they are infected with the HIV virus not to inform their sex partners of
their HIV status before sexual intercourse. |
The Ministry reminds those who are at risk
of being infected with the HIV virus not to donate blood. Those who are
at risk of being infected are advised to see their doctors for HIV
screening. |
All women who are pregnant are also
encouraged to go for HIV screening so that measures to prevent
transmission from mother to infant could be taken early for those who
are found to be HIV infected. The identities of persons who come forward
for testing and those who are found to be HIV positive will be kept
strictly confidential. |
Ministry of Health
1 December 2005 |
More..... (Tables) |
Source:
www.moh.gov.sg Press Release 1 Dec
2005 |
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