Rate of AIDS
cases soars in New Zealand

The number of new AIDS cases reported in New Zealand soared in the first half of 2005 to about double the cases of the same period in 2004. The country has already recorded 33 new AIDS cases this year, according to a report released this week by the government's Institute of Environmental Science and Research. The country also recorded 157 new HIV cases last year and 154 in 2003, significantly higher than the average of about 80 cases reported each year from 2000 to 2002. AIDS activists say New Zealands residents have become complacent about safer sex due to a growing belief that antiretroviral medications have eliminated the threat of dying from HIV disease.