HIV cases go down, but male infections go up

A report has been compiled by the National TB, HIV/AIDS & other STIs Programme of the Ministry of Health.  The statistics offer good as well as bad news. It says that for 2011, there was a continued decrease in the number of new HIV infections, with a total of two hundred and twenty-six new infections for the year.  It is a further seven point four percent decrease when compared to 2010 data. So for the third year in a row there has been a documented decrease in confirmed HIV cases. The report states that; “This represents close to a one hundred percent reduction in cases from the peak number in 2004.” While that is positive news, unfortunately new HIV infections continue to affect all age groups. The new infections continue to be in the younger age groups, particularly those between twenty to thirty-four years. While in previous years, females have had a higher rate of infection, the report signals a change towards males. While males are less likely to get tested, they recorded a higher number of new HIV infections. In 2011, one hundred and seven females and one hundred and nineteen males tested positive for HIV. It may not seem like much but only eight thousand, seven hundred and forty-seven males took the test, while twice as many females, sixteen thousand, seven hundred and two tested.