Head of for disease prevention and environmental health control of the Serang district health agency Maria Ismiati said in Serang Sunday that 32 cases were found in the PMI (Indonesian Red Cross) blood transfusion unit, Serang regency branch, and 15 other cases found in Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) clinic of Serang hospital.
"In 2010, 57 HIV/AIDS cases had been found in blood transfusion units, in addition to 12 cases in VCT clinic," she said.
Maria added that two of the 15 HIV/AIDS cases found in the VCT clinic of Serang hospital, had died.
She said the new cases will help her in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS. The sources of pollution, she said, could be found by analysis.
"Spreading can be prevented by changing the attitude of HIV/AIDS patients by way of counseling," Maria said.
She said blood containing HIV/AIDS virus found at the PMI blood transfusion unit, Serang office, will be destroyed automatically or disposed of.
"If the blood of a person is positive, it will be disposed of. We even do not know which of the donors are positive. The UTD did not have the authority to tell a donor directly that his or her blood is positive," she said.
She said that the prevalence of cases found from the blood transfusion reached 0.2 to 0.4 pct per 100 thousand people, which is still safe.
"If the prevalence reached 0.5 pct it is cause for alarm and worry," she added.
Therefore she said the spread of HIV/AIDS did not take place only transvestites, and gay people. Programs of HIV/AIDS eradication are not only carried out in Serang regency by counseling, medical treatment, and the prevention of spreading from mother to baby.
Maria said the eradication of HIV/AIDS is carried out by the AIDS eradication commission (KPA) and other relevant government institutions, like the VCT clinic of Serang hospital and NGOs especially tasked with the eradication of HIV/AIDS. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
