JEDDAH, 18 June — About a hundred people contract AIDS annually in the Kingdom, according to figures released at a recent seminar here.
Addressing the seminar on the importance of medical tests before marriage, Dr. Tarek Madani, consultant for contagious diseases, said people who tested HIV positive must be barred from marriage to prevent the transmission of the disease to their spouses and children.
According to statistics released last year, the number of reported AIDS cases in the Kingdom reached 1,000 including 366 women. Madani said there are 36 million AIDS patients around the world.
He said about 333 million cases of infectious diseases, except AIDS and hepatitis, could have been cured if detected in early stages. About one-third of the cases are found in youths and children, he added.
The seminar discussed the possibility of conducting tests on both men and women before their marriage to diagnose in advance whether either partner was carrying the HIV virus or other contagious diseases.
Sheikh Saleh ibn Abdullah Humaid, head of the Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques’ Affairs, said the proposed measure conforms to Islamic law. Dr. Abdul Ilah Saati, director of social relations at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, said medical tests on couples before marriage could save them from the dangers of infectious diseases.
