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WHO Warns Asia of Wider HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 September 2003, 06:00 CDT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- The World Health Organization warned on Wednesday that an HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region could widen because of a rise in sexually transmitted infections, particularly among young adults.

High-risk behavior is increasing and there are more sexually transmitted infections, notably in Mongolia, the Philippines and Pacific island countries, WHO's Western Pacific office said in a statement.

Surveys in China, Malaysia and Vietnam show a rise in the percentage of intravenous drug users selling sex, and evidence suggests this is spreading HIV in the wider community, it added.

WHO's regional committee for the Western Pacific, holding its annual conference in Manila, urged greater efforts to promote condom use, needle and syringe exchange programs and expanded drug treatment to prevent HIV among intravenous drug users.

It also called for more effective partnerships among the WHO, governments and other agencies to battle the disease.

The statement said that because of promotion of condom use among prostitutes, Cambodia's sex industry accounted for only a minority - 21 percent - of the country's HIV infections last year. At one time, 80 percent to 90 percent of new cases were attributed to commercial sex.

WHO says an estimated 1.2 million people in the Western Pacific have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. There are 55,000 new full-blown AIDS cases each year and the number is projected to reach at least 120,000 by 2005.

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