HIV and AIDS are on the rise among Hong Kong's gay community with fears that increasing numbers of visitors from China are spreading the virus, health officials said Tuesday.There were 67 new HIV infections in the territory for the first quarter, said Michael Chan, senior medical officer for preventative medicine at the Department of Health. The figure was up 15 on the same quarter last year, but down from the 72 registered at the end of last year.
However Chan said the rise was greatest among gay men, who made up 20 of the 67 HIV infections, up from 11 the previous year. Infections among heterosexuals have declined from 30 to 25.
"There is an increase of HIV-infected cases as a result of men having sex with men," said Chan. "These people do not practice safe sex or have more than one partner so that increases the possibility of contracting the disease."
Since 1984, when the first cases of the virus were detected in Hong Kong, 2,311 people have been registered as HIV-positive.
The number of AIDS cases stood at seven for the first quarter, compared to 14 for the period last year. The total number of AIDS cases reported since 1984 now stands at 676.
As the figures are cumulative, any falls in the number of infections indicate patients have either died or moved away.
Chan attributed the increase in infections partly to the rising number of visitors from mainland China, where the AIDS epidemic was routinely ignored for many years.
Chinese tourists, once bound by strict travel rules, have been flooding into the city since regulations were relaxed last year.
Chan said easier access for mainlanders was also bringing in more needle-using drug addicts, another high-risk HIV group.
"These drug users come to Hong Kong and share the same needles with people in Hong Kong, which helps spread the disease," Chan warned.
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