XN000022-1988-04-26 — Page 11

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 1988

10

13TH AIDS CASE CONFIRMED

AIDS

ANOTHER MAN HAS BEEN CONFIRMED TO BE SUFFERING FROM (ACQUIRED, IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME), BRINGING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF AIDS CASES IN HONG KONG TO 13.

THE LATEST CASE IS A KNOWN CARRIER WHO WAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE AIDS ANTIBODY LAST AUGUST.

ALL MALE

AT PRESENT THERE ARE THREE SURVIVING AIDS PATIENTS AND TWO ARE NON-CHINESE. ONE OF THE PATIENTS IS UNDER TREATMENT IN HOSPITAL.

IN MARCH THIS YEAR, 3,378 PERSONS WERE TESTED AND ONE WAS FOUND TO BE A CARRIER.

ANNOUNCING THE LATEST STATISTICS OF THE AIDS SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMME, THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT SAID THAT UP TO THE END OF LAST MONTH, A TOTAL OF 118 PERSONS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE INFECTED BY THE AIDS VIRUS. THIS FIGURE INCLUDES THE 13 CONFIRMED AIDS CASES.

OF THE 118 CARRIERS, 52 ARE HAEMOPHILIACS, NINE WERE PATIENTS OF THE SOCIAL HYGIENE CLINICS, 28 WERE REFERRALS FROM PRIVATE PRACTITIONERS AND 29 WERE REFERRALS FROM GOVERNMENT CLINICS AND HOSPITALS.

UNDER THE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMME WHICH WAS STARTED IN 1985 TO MONITOR THE AIDS SITUATION IN HONG KONG, A TOTAL OF 85,908 PERSONS HAVE BEEN TESTED.

THE HIGH RISK GROUPS COVERED IN THE PROGRAMME INCLUDE INTRAVENOUS DRUG ABUSERS, SEXUALLY PROMISCUOUS PERSONS AND PEOPLE WHO USE BLOOD PRODUCTS.

SINCE AUGUST 1985, THE HONG KONG RED CROSS BLOOD TRANSFUSION SERVICE HAS ALSO TESTED 387,381 BLOOD DONORS FOR THE AIDS ANTIBODY. SO FAR, SIX BLOOD UNITS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE POSITIVE.

UP THE TO END OF LAST MONTH, A TOTAL OF 26,533 CALLS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED BY THE AIDS COUNSELLING AND EDUCATION SERVICE OF THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT SINCE IT WAS OPENED IN NOVEMBER 1985.

/AIDS Virus