614 Cases of AIDS Exposed in Georgia

614 Cases of AIDS Exposed in Georgia

Tbilisi.10.01.05.Media News. Last year 138 new cases of AIDS were revealed in Georgia.

According to the data of December 1, 2004 614 cases of this infection are registered in AIDS Center, though specialists suppose that the number of those infected with AIDS reach up to 2500 according to unofficial data. There are 503 men among infected. The majority of the patients are aged 21-40; 111 patients have been deceased.

Most of the cases of spreading this infection are connected with drug injection – 67,5 percent, 27percent have been infected through heterosexual contacts, 3.4 percent through homosexual contacts, 0.8 percent through blood and the way of infection of 0.5 percent is unidentified.

The most cases of AIDS infection - 240 are established in Tbilii, 98 – in Samegrelo, 94 – in Adjara, 53 – in Imereti, 23 – in Abkhazia, 14 – in Poti, 14 – in Kakheti, 22 – in Karlti. 22 foreign citizens have also been revealed to have AIDS infection and 10 of them have returned to their countries.

According to UN AIDS Programme Georgia is among the countries with low spreading rate of AIDS, as the number of those infected with AIDS is not more than 5 percent of the population. However, it should be noted that if large scale preventive measures are not taken Georgia may share the fate of Russia and Ukraine. At present these two countries are considered to have the highest rate of spreading AIDS.

For information: The first case of AIDS infection was revealed in Georgia in Abkhazia in 1989.

No case of AIDS infection has been revealed in 2005.