AIDS statistics still look grim
It’s the fourth leading cause of death in Belize and ranks first for those between thirty and forty-nine years of age. Yes, AIDS in Belize is as big a killer as ever…and today the Ministry of Health released the numbers to prove it.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Since Belize?s first AIDS case was reported in 1986, the disease has taken a heavy toll on Belizeans. A total of two thousand, six hundred and seventy-six Belizeans were living with HIV and AIDS at the end of 2003 and today preliminary data indicates that the number of HIV infections recorded for 2004 is four hundred and fifty-seven.
Dr. Paul Edwards, Director, Epidemiology Unit, M.O.H.
?More individuals are being diagnosed with this disease. However, we must look at that as something being very important in the sense that the earlier someone knows his H.I.V. status, you are better able to take care of yourself and access medication in a timely fashion and therefore not be admitted to the hospital being full-blown AIDS, and many times when that happens not even the medication can help those individuals.?
The Ministry of Health reports that between 1986 and 2003 a total of four hundred and sixty-four AIDS patients died. That statistic is just one of many figures recorded in the annual HIV/AIDS Epidemiological Profile for 2003. Today, the twenty-three page document was officially published, and as expected, the information shows that Belize has the highest number of cases per capita in Central America.
Dr. Paul Edwards
?The other factors that are very important to discuss is the increasing number of females being infected with the virus. We?re almost seeing that in Belize it?s almost for every male there is a female as compared to in the year 1996, there were two males for every female. We are noticing the districts that are being affected as such by this disease: the Belize District, the Stann Creek District, and the Cayo District. Those are very critical information for us to be aware of the status of the epidemic here in Belize.?
Also noted at today’s launch was the increasing problem of under reporting of cases by physicians who continue to avoid writing the cause of AIDS related deaths, in an effort to protect families from stigma and discrimination. In his presentation to the gathering, Director of Health Services, Doctor Errol Vanzie, not only reminded clinicians that the practise is illegal but says there is a coded system in place that can be used to ensure confidentiality.
