KUCHING: The rate of HIV/AIDS infection among women in Sarawak, including housewives, is on the rise, said Environment and Public Health Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh.He said at the launch of the state-level World AIDS Day 2009 celebration, that the infection rate among women had gone up from 23 per cent in 1998 to 32 per cent in 2008.

Wong said many of the housewives with HIV/AIDS were infected by their husbands.

“Many of the cases which were detected among women were in the late stages because they were not aware that they were infected.

“In Malaysia, there were two females for every eight males with HIV cases in 2008. In 2000 it was one female for every 13 males,” he said.

Generally, Wong said the number of HIV/AIDS cases in Sarawak was increasing and most of them now involved locals.

He explained that when the virus was first detected in the state, most of the patients were foreigners.

Since 1989 until October 2009, there were 1,056 reported cases of HIV in Sarawak, and 568 cases were AIDS.

A total of 224 of the reported HIV patients succumbed to the disease.

The largest age group infected by HIV is between 20 and 39 which accounts for  65 per cent of all the HIV cases.

Data showed that in 2008, there were 137 new reported HIV cases with 117 of them locals.

Wong pointed out: “In Sarawak, the main mode of transmission of HIV is through heterosexual intercourse which made up 68 per cent of the total number of cases.”

At the national level, Wong said,  from 1986 to June this year, there were 86,217 cases of HIV reported with 14,955 confirmed with AIDS and 11,549 deaths.

He emphasised that HIV/AIDS must be taken seriously because the disease knows no racial boundaries or social strata.

He said in Malaysia infection due to heterosexual intercourse rose from 18 per cent in 2000 to 27 per cent in 2008.

He also said that a study carried out in 2006 found that about 70 per cent of Malaysians were aware of HIV/AIDS but their attitude towards the disease was negative.

The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is ‘Universal Access and Human Rights’,  chosen to ensure that all HIV positive individuals have access to appropriate health services.

Wong advised the public to educate themselves on health issues and parents to  take extra measures to educate their children about their health.

He added that there should not be any discrimination against HIV patients; instead they should be given help and psychological support.

“We must convince everyone to support the fight against HIV/AIDS. I believe with concerted efforts by all authorities including NGOs, the fight against HIV/AIDS can be carried out successfully,” he said.

Earlier, state health director Dr Mohd Kamil Hassan said HIV/AIDS-positive individuals should not be treated differently because they are entitled to information, health services, and treatment just like other people.

He said his department had organised many HIV/AIDS-related activities which included free anti-viral treatment for Malaysian citizens.

Rural people were also informed about HIV/AIDS by health representatives trained with a specially developed module, he said.

He added that counselling was given not only to those infected by HIV/AIDS, but also their spouses, other family members, and those who worry about their HIV status.

He advised the public to go for free HIV screening at all government hospitals and health clinics.

“The screenings are done with the fullest confidentiality in order to encourage more individuals who are at risk to come and get it done,” said Dr Kamil.