HK's new cases of HIV in 2011 hits new high

HONG KONG - The new cases of HIV infection reported in Hong Kong in 2011 rose 12.6 percent from a year ago to 438, hitting a new record, the city's health department said here on Thursday, adding the figure shows HIV/AIDS is still a major threat to the public health.

According to the data, the cumulative total of HIV infections in Hong Kong as the end of this June reached 5,523.

The secretary for the food and health department Ko Wing-man said Hong Kong's government is promoting provider-initiated HIV antibody testing services and helping AIDS service organizations provide free testing and counseling services.

He said the cooperation among Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS is also fostered through preventive programs to alleviate the impact of the mobile population on the local epidemic.

Ko said the city's government will continue its close co- operation with the medical sector and the community at large to prevent and control the spread of AIDS, reiterating that the HIV prevalence remains low in Hong Kong when compared with elsewhere in Asia. ?

To curb the epidemic in an effective manner, various measures have been launched in Hong Kong, including the Preventing Mother-to-child Transmission Program, the Methadone Treatment Program, and the community-based responses to the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men.