Number of HIV Infections Rising in South Korea, India
The number of new HIV infections in South Korea is on the rise, Asia Pulse reports. In the first three months of 2002, 75 new HIV infections were reported in the country, a 7.1% increase over the same period last year. The total reported number of HIV-positive South Koreans is now 1,686, and this number is "rising steeply," according to the South Korean National Institute of Health. Nearly 97% of HIV-positive South Koreans are thought to have contracted the virus through sexual contact, and an NIH spokesperson said that a "more casual approach to sex" is leading to a rise in HIV infections among people in their 20s and 30s. To fight the rise of infections, the NIH plans to ramp up its HIV prevention campaign by producing television advertisements, distributing free condoms and placing condom vending machines in the 10 cities hosting World Cup soccer matches this year (Asia Pulse, 4/15).
HIV Infections Rising in India
The estimated number of HIV infections in India is also rising, Press Trust of India Limited reports. The estimated number of HIV infections among adults increased from 3.5 million in 1998 to 3.8 million in 2000 and to 3.97 million in 2001. However, Junior Minister for Health and Family Welfare A. Raja told the upper house of the Indian Parliament on Monday that the government has "no plans" to make HIV a notifiable disease (Press Trust of India Limited, 4/15).