RIYADH, 3 September 2005 — Nearly 9,000 HIV/AIDS cases have been detected in Saudi Arabia by the end of 2004, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Health.
Dr. Khaled Mirghalani, the general supervisor for media and health awareness, said of the 8,919 cases reported till the end of last year, 2,005 cases, or 22.4 percent, were Saudis. He said 646 Saudi HIV patients had died over the years.
Of the Kingdom’s regions, Jeddah has the highest number of HIV patients.
The spokesman said that 78.4 percent of the victims got the deadly virus after intercourse with infected people. Transfusion of imported blood, use of drugs and transmission of the virus from infected mothers to newborns represented 21.6 percent of the total cases. Infected men outnumbered infected women by three to one. Seventy-eight percent of the patients were between 15 and 49 years old.
Last year, 32 Saudis carrying the virus were detected. The increase of cases detected each year was put at 10 percent for Saudis and 7.8 for non-Saudis.
Dr. Al-Mirghalani said a nationwide awareness campaign about the deadly disease and its methods of transmission was under way with the cooperation of several ministries, government and private institutions.
The official said the campaign is now being carried out in hospitals and other health care institutions. In addition, officials have arranged lectures using audio and visual aids.
The spokesman said the ministry will print a special brochure for nursing staff, people who work in blood banks, medical labs and in dental clinics to educate them on various precautions they should take to avoid contracting the virus.
In other measures to prevent the spread of the virus, the Kingdom stopped importing blood in 1987 and local blood and organ donors are tested for the virus. It has also made HIV tests mandatory on those arriving in the Kingdom for the first time.
Three centers have been established — in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam — to treat AIDS patients. The ministry has allocated SR18 million in its yearly budget to combat the disease and to provide medical assistance and treatment for AIDS patients. The treatment of an AIDS patient costs the government from SR80,000 to SR120,000 a year, depending on the person’s condition.
