153 HIV/AIDS Patients in Bali Within Five Months

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - Over the past five months, 153 residents of Indonesian resort island of Bali had positively been infected by HIV/AIDS, a local hospital authority said.

"The number of people having the HIV/AIDS consultation with us is between 19 and 37. They generally admit that they have more than one sexual partners," Dr.Ida Ayu Miswaryati said here Monday.

The head of Sanglah Public Hospital's infected disease division said that at least 170 people had HIV/AIDS consultations with the hospital's doctors over the past five months.

However, there were only 153 who were positively infected, she said.

Compared to last year, this year's number of HIV/AIDS cases increased but there were less patients dying of this dangerous disease than last year, she said.

The dead patients were in the age range of 20 and 40, she said.

Most of the patients admitted that they had more than one partners and heterosexual behavior, Miswaryati said.

"About 106 patients have sex with more than one partners and several others may get the disease from their HIV/AIDS-infected partners," she said.

Over the past five months, at least 31 HIV/AIDS patients had died. They were dominantly male, she said.

Due to false understanding about the way the disease infecting people, certain elements in the society isolated the patients.

As a result, the HIV/AIDS patients felt useless because of the public rejection, she said.

"In fact, this HIV/AIDS disease can only be infected through sexual intercourse and injection (blood)," she said adding that four hours after the patient died, the HIV/AIDS viruses were inactive.

But, the paramedics and family members who cared for the patients need to remain careful, she said.

Miswaryati called on the people not to isolate them. Instead they should help the patients to recover, she said.  (*)