Her push for prevention was based in part on the continuing rise in HIV cases since the CDC took over the HIV therapy program in 2007. From 2007 to last year, a total of 9,079 new HIV cases were reported — more than 40 percent of the total number of HIV/AIDS cases identified in Taiwan since 1984, when the disease was first tracked in the country — with 1,967 of those reported last year alone, according to CDC data.
Lin also urged coverage for HIV therapy to revert back to the national health insurance program. The last recorded vertical transmission of HIV, or mother-to-child transmission, in Taiwan was in 2008, according to data compiled by the agency.
There are 22,020 people known as HIV-positive in Taiwan, 8,413 of whom have experienced symptoms of HIV. A total of 3,360 patients have died of the disease, according to the CDC.
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