A total of 288 people with HIV have died this year, with 74, or 26 percent, under the age of 35, the Centers of Diseases Control (CDC) said.
Compared with the number of deaths last year and the year before among people with HIV under 35 years old, CDC physician Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said the number this year is not particularly high.
The deaths of 34 in the age group this year, or 46 percent, were directly linked to HIV infection, while the other 40 died by suicide, or sepsis or other diseases.
However, the centers’ data showed that among the 34 death cases directly linked to HIV infection, 12 of them, or 35 percent, died within a year of being diagnosed with HIV, indicating that several cases were not diagnosed and treated promptly.
Among the 34 people, 22, or 65 percent, did not make follow-up visits to doctors or take medicine regularly after they were diagnosed with HIV, Lo said, adding that by not taking medicine regularly, with some patients stopping altogether, immunity can be further compromised.
He said a study commissioned by the centers showed that the 10-year survival rate of people reported before 2002 to have HIV showed that patients who stopped taking medicine faced a death rate 1.76 times higher than those who adhered to their prescriptions.
People with HIV should follow doctors’ instructions and take their medicine regularly, Lo said.
The CDC said there are 43 anonymous HIV screening tests service locations nationwide.
If people have sexual intercourse with strangers or unprotected sex, they should get HIV screening tests every three to six months, it said.
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