On the Eve of World AIDS Day, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that as of Oct. 31, 1,991 cases of AIDS were reported this year — an average of six cases per day, and doctors urged people who are sexually active to get tested regularly for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The centers said that including new cases, the total number of AIDS cases in Taiwan has reached 33,018 people, and according to statistics from last year, about 70 percent of the reported cases were people aged between 15 and 35.
The majority of the cases were concentrated in the 25 to 34-year-old age group, accounting for 42 percent of cases, followed by 15 to 24-year-olds, accounting for 28 percent, the centers said, adding that the main cause of AIDS is unprotected sex or having sex without using a condom, which accounts for 89 percent of all cases.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said HIV, the cause of AIDS, is transmitted through blood, semen, vaginal fluids, breast milk and other bodily fluids, and is mainly spread by having vaginal or anal sex with someone who has HIV without using a condom, so everyone who is sexually active is at risk of HIV infection and should practice safe sex.
The centers said the biggest challenge to AIDS prevention is social stigma and discrimination against people with AIDS, because many people are unwilling to be tested or get treatment.
To encourage people in high-risk groups to be tested and get treatment, the centers provides at-home HIV saliva tests and anonymous screening and consulting services, in addition to a new HIV preventive, a pre-exposure prophylaxis, a pill for people in high-risk groups who do not have HIV to take daily to reduce their risk of infection.
Separately, the Taiwan AIDS Society and the Taiwan AIDS Nurses Association yesterday invited popular Taiwanese band members to urge people who are sexually active — regardless of their gender and sexual orientation — to get tested for HIV regularly and to eliminate the stigma around people with AIDS.
Yang Chia-jui (楊家瑞), an attending physician at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital’s Department of Infectious Diseases, said a common misconception is that only homosexuals are at risk of contacting HIV, but anyone who is sexually active with more than one partner and not practicing safe sex is at risk.
“Many heterosexuals in a stable sexual relationship do not think they can be infected with HIV, but if their sexual partner has unprotected sex with another person they can still be at risk,” Yang said.
He said that people who have unprotected sex should have an HIV test at least once a year and people who have multiple sexual partners, or share needles to use recreational drugs get tested every three to six months.
People can make an anonymous appointment for a HIV test, which usually takes about 15 to 30 minutes, and the medical facility will not inform the person’s family members about any test results, Yang said, adding that AIDS can be controlled by medication, similar to other chronic diseases, so people should get tested and receive treatment as early as possible.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm earlier today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, in this year's Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am, the CWA said. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) with a 100km radius, it said. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA meteorologist Huang En-hung (黃恩宏) said. However, a more accurate forecast would be made on Wednesday, when Yinxing is
NEW DESTINATIONS: Marketing campaigns to attract foreign travelers have to change from the usual promotions about Alishan and Taroko Gorge, the transport minister said The number of international tourists visiting Taiwan is estimated to top 8 million by the end of this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said yesterday, adding that the ministry has not changed its goal of attracting 10 million foreign travelers this year. Chen made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to brief lawmakers about the ministry’s plan to boost foreign visitor arrivals. Last month, Chen told the committee that the nation might attract only 7.5 million tourists from overseas this year and that when the ministry sets next year’s goal, it would not include
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