Health Issue

34 Infants in Bali Infected HIV Positive

VIVAnews - Data from Bali Health Agency showed that between 1987 and 2008, 34 infants were infected HIV positive.

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"They were infected through their mother," said Head of Sub-agency of Infectious Diseases and Environment Sanitation at Bali Health Agency, Dr. Ketut Subrata on Monday, Dec 1.

According to him, the number of HIV sufferers in Bali is increasing. Since the case initially appeared in Bali around 1987, 2,323 cases have been recorded until today, with a deceased victims reached 217.

"Denpasar is still at the top of the list with 1,117 cases, with dead victims reaching 93 people. Buleleng city followed with 442 cases, with 33 people deceased," said Subrata.
 
New cases in 2007 reached 583 with detail information as follows: 340 HIV positive cases and 243 AIDS cases. In addition, as of September 2008, there were 487 new cases: 181 were suffered from HIV positive, and 306 were AIDS sufferers.

"This only appears on the surface because many cases are not being reported," he said.

Meanwhile, the treatment of pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS has been practiced at Sanglah Hospital and Singaraja Regional Hospital through Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program. Data of Sanglah Hospital showed that from 2005 until today, there have been 32 pregnant women who have HIV risk.

An obstetrician and gynecologist at Sanglah Hospital, Dr. Anak Agung Ngurah Jayakusuma said that through the program, doctors can reduce the risk of infected infants by only two percent.

HIV virus spreading through trans-placenta, birthing processes and breast-feeding must be observed through counseling. "We cannot prohibit women to be pregnant because it is their rights. After pregnancy is over, they should be able to protect their infants from being infected."

According to Jayakusuma, the difficulty lies in the obligation to wait until infants are 1.5 years old. "In fact, there is an instant way. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test may show the result in 48 hours. But it's expensive. Our patients are commonly poor," Jayakusuma said.


Coverage: Wima Saraswati/Bali
Translated by: Bonardo Maulana Wahono

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VIVA.co.id
28 Maret 2024