Health | Twelve AIDS cases between January and May

A woman holds a red ribbon symbol of the fight against AIDS during a demonstration on the World Aids Day

The Fight Against AIDS Committee reported on Monday during its first work meeting of the year, that in the period between January and May this year, the city has recorded 12 new cases of AIDS, as announced in a statement released by the committee.
The number was revealed by Lam Chong, general secretary of the committee. Eleven cases resulted from sexual contact, whereas the remaining case was due to an unknown transmission.
A statement issued by the Health Bureau (SSM) mentions that during the meeting, Lei Lai Peng, head of the Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Division of the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS), reported on the prevention of AIDS among drug abusers: in 2015, 87 percent of the 174 AIDS patients, who were infected as a result of their drug dependence, had attended treatment services provided by the department.
Moreover, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) reported on the outcome of the promotion of sexual health among adolescents. According to the department, the DSEJ will continue to promote sexual education in schools and communities, as well as to keep assisting schools with sexual education programs. It will also continue to organize training courses for sexual education teachers.
The preliminary results of the research that addressed local youth awareness, attitude and behaviour towards AIDS were also reported by SSM.
Alexis Tam, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture said that Macau has a low AIDS infection rate and that the disease has been successfully restrained. Tam encouraged the city’s medical departments to cooperate with each other in order to achieve the goal set by the UN: which is to eradicate AIDS by the year 2030.