The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that the numbers of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the nation have been reducing for six years, but people should still practice safe sex for HIV/AIDS prevention or get tested at least once a year.
A total of 944 people were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS last year, which is 11.7 percent lower than 1,069 diagnoses in the previous year, and it is the lowest annual number since 2004, the CDC said.
The CDC on the Valentine’s Day yesterday reminded people to practice safer sex — use condoms correctly every time — to prevent HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Photo courtesy of Public Health Bureau
The centers said its HIV/AIDS screening questionnaire showed that many of the newly reported HIV-positive cases had never gotten tested for HIV before, and the main reason was that they believed that they were not at risk of infection.
The CDC said it encourages people who are sexually active to get an HIV test at least once, and those who have sex without a condom to get tested at least once a year.
People with HIV-risk behaviors — such as having STDs, multiple sexual partners or engaging in sexual activity under the influence of drugs — are recommended to get tested once every three to six months, it said.
While taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective in reducing the risk of getting HIV and the number of hospitals with government-funded PrEP has increased to 103, PrEP does not prevent other STDs, the centers said, adding that practicing safer sex and getting regular tests are necessary.
Moreover, the CDC said it continues to expand the diversified HIV/AIDS screening, examination and consultation service channels, while promoting anonymous HIV testing to maintain privacy.
The number of designated HIV clinics have increased to 85, it said.
Aside from tests available at healthcare facilities, the CDC also has an HIV self-test program, allowing people to apply for a test kit from the centers’ Web site (https://gov.tw/D8C) and receive it at convenience stores, or purchase it from designated non-governmental organizations, local health bureaus, public health centers or one of the 79 designated vending machines, it said.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
COMMUNITY SPIRIT: As authorities were busy with post-typhoon cleanups elsewhere, residents cleaned fallen leaves and cut small fallen trees blocking the hiking trails All hiking trails damaged by Typhoon Kong-rey have been repaired and has reopened for people who want a refreshing hike in Taipei during the Lunar New Year holiday, a city official said. The Taipei Basin is known for its easily accessible hiking trails. It has more than 130 trails combined into the 92km-long Taipei Grand Trail, which was divided into seven major routes when it was launched by the Taipei City Government in 2018. Last year, a part of the sixth route of the Grand Trail collapsed due to Typhoon Kong-rey, which hit Taiwan in October. The damaged section belongs to one
RSS