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Japan reports
record number of new HIV infections in April–June

Japan reports
record number of new HIV infections in April–June

The number of new infections of the AIDS virus in Japan hit a new high of 248 in the three-month period from April to June of this year, the Health Ministry said Wednesday in Tokyo, raising fears that the country's infection rate is accelerating. The increase was the highest since the July-September 2004 period, when 209 people were infected, said ministry official Yasuaki Hashimoto. A ministry statement on the new figures did not specify a cause for the increase but suggested the wider availability of testing for HIV could account for a marked increase in infections among middle-aged Japanese. The number of people infected with HIV in Japan--17,000--remains low compared with that of many other countries. The infection rate in Japan is 1 in 7,529 people, far lower than, for example, the 1-in-110 infection rate in Thailand, according to UNAIDS. Although the numbers are small, the rate at which HIV infection has spread in Japan over the past decade is similar to the rate in developing countries. Japanese tend to have a low general awareness of the disease, which is largely seen as a problem of foreign nations. "We are greatly concerned about the trend," Hashimoto said, adding that the ministry has been promoting awareness about HIV to the general public and urging health officials to expand hours for HIV tests at clinics. Some experts also argue that the cases are severely underreported, estimating that the actual number of Japanese infected with the AIDS virus, many of them gay men, is two to four times the official toll. While two thirds of those newly infected with HIV are in their 20s and 30s, infections among older people are increasing too, according to the ministry's AIDS Surveillance Committee. The ratio of those newly infected in their 40s and 50s rose to 31% in April-June, up from 22% in the previous quarter, according to a statement by the committee released Tuesday. Hashimoto said that the increase in such cases may be due to weeklong awareness campaigns in June with extended hours for tests, making it easier for older people, who often hold managerial positions, to get tested. The number of new AIDS patients during the latest period was 106, the second highest since the July-September period in 2004 with 126 cases, the official said. The number of reported cases of HIV has been rising since 2002 to 832 cases, a record high, in 2005, while the number of reported cases of AIDS decreased in 2005 after a two-year increase. (AP)

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