One new case of AIDS, 11 of HIV, this year

One new case of AIDS and 11 of HIV have been registered in Malta this year.

Health director general Ray Busuttil said this year’s figures were much lower than last year’s when six new cases of AIDS and 30 new cases of HIV were registered.

Speaking during a news conference to mark World Aids Day, Dr Busuttil said that five of the six new AIDS cases last year were on people from sub-Saharan Africa and only nine of the 30 new HIV cases were Maltese. Ten were illegal immigrants and 11 were foreigners who came to have the test in Malta.

Around 41 million people in the world suffer from HIV or AIDS. Two thirds were from sub-Saharan Africa and more than half were women.

Dr Busuttil stressed the need for preventive measures and said that the only guarantee to avoiding infection was a lifestyle which did not include multiple partners.

People engaging in risky behavior were playing with fire and risked getting burnt.

He encouraged the use of condoms to substantially decrease risk and said that a promotional educational video encouraging people to use condoms during sex had been prepared.

Dr Busuttil said that there were 150 people living with HIV in Malta.

The number of people living with HIV and AIDS in the world was on the increase in spite of a drop in the number of new cases. This was because treatment had improved and people were living longer.

He said that there was no policy to screen either the whole population or all immigrants landing in Malta, however all pregnant ones were screened since treatment during pregnancy prevented the baby from being born HIV positive. He said that no babies born to immigrants were HIV positive.

The director for health promotion and disease surveillance, Charmaine Gauci said that it was important for people with symptoms to get themselves tested free of charge at the GU clinic.

People leading risky lifestyles should also get tested since most sexually transmitted diseases were symptomless in the beginning.