KUCHING: Sarawak recorded 334 Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases as of October this year.
State health department director Dr Chin Zin Hing said from the total figure, 198 were new cases.
From this total, 87 percent were male and 13 percent, female.
“The number of deaths in the same period is 51,” he told New Sarawak Tribune today.
He said the number of HIV cases from January to October this year had decreased by 41 cases or 11 percent compared to 375 cases reported in the corresponding period last year.
“The decrease could be because of the restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Dr Chin said from the total reported cases, 94 percent were caused by sexual transmission, six percent by sharing of needles when taking drugs and infection from mother to child.
On the breakdown of cases by division, 28 percent were reported in Kuching, followed by Sibu (17 percent), Miri (16 percent), Bintulu (12 percent), Samarahan (six percent), Betong and Sarikei (four percent), Serian and Sri Aman (three percent), Kapit and Mukah (two percent), and Limbang (one percent).
For the record, 446 cases were recorded in Sarawak last year, which showed a slight decrease of 19 cases or four percent compared to 465 cases in 2018.
From the total figure, 64 percent involved new cases, while 36 percent were old cases. This meant that 36 percent of the cases reported last year had been infected with HIV for a long time and continued to spread the virus to their partners.
For the breakdown of HIV cases by division in Sarawak, 24 percent were recorded in Kuching, followed by Miri (22 percent), Bintulu (16 percent), Sibu (15 percent), Samarahan (five percent), Sarikei and Mukah (four percent), Sri Aman and Kapit (three percent), Serian and Limbang (two percent) and Betong (one percent).
The most prevalent cause of HIV infection in Sarawak is sexual transmission, which contributed 95 percent to the reported cases last year.
The remaining five percent were caused by sharing of needles while taking drugs and infection from the mother to child.
90 percent of the reported HIV cases last year involved male, while 74 percent of the total cases last year were youths aged between 20 and 39.
Since 1989, the number of cases reported was 3,779, while the number of deaths caused by HIV was 736.
It is estimated that the number of surviving HIV patients is 3,043.
World AIDS Day falls on every Dec 1, and on this day, people worldwide unite in the fight against HIV, show support to people living with HIV, and commemorate those who have died from AIDS-related illness.
This year’s theme is ‘Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility’.
