Most HIV infections in Malta transmitted sexually

The Health Department is attempting to trace the source of infection of people found to be HIV positive or suffering from Hepatitis B and C in order to invite them to take the test themselves.

Addressing a news conference on the occasion of World AIDS Day celebrated worldwide yesterday, Roderick Bugeja, from the Health Promotion Unit, said that if the sexual contacts of infected persons agreed to the test and were found to be positive, the department would then try to trace their partners.

He said that last year 23 tests were positive; 16 were positive in 2003; 26 in 2002; 11 in 2001 and 14 in 2000. An average of 5,000 tests were taken each year.

Mr Bugeja said the number of positive tests did not indicate the number of people with HIV. People found to be HIV positive could retake the test several times and there could be many other HIV persons who had not taken the test.

He said that most HIV infections in Malta were transmitted sexually. In fact, the first cases of intravenous drug users contracting HIV were only registered this year.

Mr Bugeja said that in Malta, prevention was being stressed, especially in schools, with the biggest emphasis being placed on young people up to the age of 25.

Personal and social development teachers were being given lectures on how to present the subject of sexuality and relationships to their students and Mr Bugeja said he was himself giving lectures to Church and private school students where there was a shortage of PSD teachers.

Schoolchildren, especially in secondary classes, were being urged to use condoms if they wanted to lead a sexually active lifestyle, he said. Students were urged to follow the ABCD: A standing for Abstain, B for Be Faithful, C for Condomise and D for Don't Do Drugs.

For the past three years, Church schools have accepted the health authorities sexually educating their students although there were big barriers up to five or 10 years ago.

The Church, Mr Bugeja said, could not turn a blind eye to the problems of the country and teenage pregnancies in Church schools proved that sexual activity was rife even among their students. So they also had to be taught about the risks and the transmission of diseases.

A department survey carried out some years ago showed that children started to experiment with sex from the age of 13.

Other initiatives being taken by the department include pre- and post-test counselling. A help line, 2326 6121, had been set up and callers were usually invited for pre-test counselling after which they were referred to the GU Clinic and then post-test counselling.

Mr Bugeja said that new challenges were facing Malta. One of them was the fact that Malta was close to the African continent, the worst affected by AIDS. Many people from that continent were finding their way into Malta and relations between Maltese and foreigners were on the rise.

Another challenge was that the work of the department had expanded greatly but the number of people working in the sector remained the same. The department needed more financial and human resources.

World AIDS Day this year and each year until 2010 is being celebrated on the theme Stop AIDS, Keep The Promise. The theme is based on that of 2001 which was I Care, Do You? and which had led to the establishment of the landmark UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. This declaration is seen as a blueprint for action and includes concrete benchmarks to measure progress on prevention, reducing stigma, building health infrastructure, ensuring treatment and providing much needed leadership and resources.

The Stop AIDS, Keep The Promise theme is aimed at encouraging governments and the international community to meet their commitments. By sustaining a single theme over five years, the campaign hopes it will attract others and create a movement that gives those working on the response a forum to be heard - and a platform to act.

The theme this year is calling upon every individual to make a personal promise to fight AIDS. Since the beginning of the epidemic, individual people have played heroic roles in helping and caring for people living with HIV and AIDS.

There are 40 million people all over the world living with the disease.