There were 2,400 new HIV/AIDS cases recorded in the nation last year, the third-highest number since records began, the Centers for Disease Control said on Tuesday.
As of the end of last year, 33,428 people had been diagnosed with HIV and the number of new infections last year trailed only 2005, when there were 3,378 new cases, and 2006, when there were 2,917, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) told a news conference.
The increase in the number of new cases does not mean that the spread of the disease has worsened, but it is more likely the result of expanded screening and the introduction of oral fluid tests last year, which allow patients to purchase HIV/AIDS kits and conduct tests at home, Lo said.
The statistics showed that 97 percent of the new cases last year were male, with a median age of 28.
The main cause of infection was sharing needles and other drug paraphernalia.
While “certain groups” have shown an increased number of HIV/AIDS infections, the figures should be used to prevent the virus from spreading, not as a weapon to attack those groups, Lo said.
Medical advances enable people with HIV to control the disease, reducing complications and the probability of the spread to third parties, Lo said.
To make it more convenient for HIV patients to receive treatment, seven hospitals and three pharmacies have been added to a list of designated HIV treatment facilities, bringing the total number of institutions to 69, the centers said.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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