XN000022-1991-03-27 — Page 8

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1991

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ONE MORE AIDS CASE CONFIRMED

ONE MORE CASE OF AIDS (ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME) HAS BEEN CONFIRMED, BRINGING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF AIDS CASES IN HONG KONG TO 46.

ANNOUNCING THIS TODAY { WEDNESDAY), A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SAID THE NEW AIDS PATIENT DIED SOON AFTER HE WAS FOUND INFECTED WITH THE DISEASE LAST MONTH.

SO FAR, A TOTAL OF 32 AIDS PATIENTS HAVE DIED AND 14 OTHERS ARE EITHER UNDER COUNSELLING AND TREATMENT OR HAVE LEFT THE TERRITORY.

RELEASING THE STATISTICS ON THE AIDS SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMME FOR FEBRUARY, THE SPOKESMAN SAID THREE MORE MEN WERE FOUND TO BK POSITIVE FOR THE HIV ANTIBODY TEST, BRINGING TO 168 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HIV CARRIERS WHO HAVE NOT YET DEVELOPED AIDS.

THE INFECTION THE INFECTION

OF THESE, 55 WERE HAEMOPHILIACS, 93 ACQUIRED SEXUALLY, FOUR WERE DRUG ABUSERS, THREE ACQUIRED THROUGH BLOOD TRANSFUSION, AND THE INFORMATION FOR THE OTHER 13 WAS INADEQUATE FOR CLASSIFICATION.

UNDER THE AIDS SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMME WHICH STARTED IN 1985, A TOTAL OF 186,820 BLOOD SPECIMENS HAVE BEEN TESTED FOR THE AIDS VIRUS.

THE HONG KONG RED CROSS BLOOD TRANSFUSION SERVICE HAS ALSO SCREENED ALL BLOOD DONORS FOR AIDS.

UP TO LAST MONTH, 854,834 UNITS OF BLOOD HAD BEEN TESTED AND 15 WERE FOUND POSITIVE.

/AIDS VIRUS