Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/17
By: Chen Wei-ting and Christie Chen

Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) The number of new HIV/AIDS cases recorded in Taiwan in 2016 totaled 2,400, the third highest in history, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday.

As of the end of 2016, 33,428 Taiwanese nationals have been diagnosed with HIV and the number of new annual infections was the third highest ever, after 3,378 new cases in 2005 and 2,917 in 2006, CDC Deputy Director General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said at a press conference.

However, Lo said that the increase in new cases does not mean that the spread of the disease has worsened, but is more likely a result of expanded screening and the introduction of oral fluid tests last year, which allow patients to purchase HIV kits and conduct tests in the privacy of their own homes.

The CDC statistics also showed that 97 percent of the 2,400 new cases in 2016 were male, with a median age of 28, the main cause of infection being the sharing of needles and other drug paraphernalia.    [FULL  STORY]