3,530 new AIDS cases last year

Some 3530 people were infected with the AIDS virus last year in the Dominican Republic, where 48,000 people aged between 15 and 49 years are living with the deadly disease, according to the Presidential Council on AIDS (Copresida).
The data is contained in the report "Estimates and Projections of HIV Prevalence and Burden of Disease, 2009," presented by Copresida, which, however, noted a downward trend in mortality from the disease since 2004.
The agency said in a statement that the decline can be attributed to the introduction of antiretroviral therapy.

Executive Director of Copresida, Gustavo Rojas Lara, warned that there are about 21,500 people in the country unaware of their HIV status "and if you do not know, you are not being given adequate monitoring."
The official noted that since 2003, when he began antiretroviral therapy, the number of people receiving treatment has increased and at present they treat about 13,000, representing a coverage of 74% of the country's needs.

According to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), 50 out of 100,000 Dominicans are living with the disease, while 58,000 children aged between one and fourteen have been orphaned by the disease.

The First Survey of Surveillance Risk of Sexual Behaviour with Serological Linking published last year in the country revealed that AIDS is prevalent among homosexuals, transsexuals, prostitutes and drug users in the Dominican Republic.
The survey showed that the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the population of drug users is 8% and 6.1% from homosexuals and transsexuals, respectively.

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