Ten Sub Districts Declared HIV/AIDS Endemic

TEMPO Interactive, Tangerang: The Health Department of Tangerang Regency has declared ten sub districts to be HIV/AIDS endemic.A place can be categorized as endemic when one HIV/AIDS case is discovered, Abdul Aziz, HIV/AIDS Program Administrator at the Tangerang Health Department told Tempo yesterday (6/8).The ten sub-districts are: Kosambi with 22 cases, Cikupa with 9 cases, and Serpong, North Serpong, Pamulang, Pondok Aren, Curug, Kelapa Dua, Ciputat, and East Ciputat with between five and seven cases.According to Aziz, Kosambi has the highest number of case as it has many prostitution locations. The spread of HIV/AIDS in Cikupa, Curug, and Kelapa Dua is also through prostitution. But it is not localized in one place. This makes preventative actions difficult, said Aziz.While in Ciputat, Serpong, Pamulang and Pondok Aren, HIV/AIDS spreads generally through drug use.The Health Department of Tangerang Regency, in cooperation with Global Found, will identify HIV/AIDS sufferers by visiting them directly at prosecution locations. Global Founds District Project Officer Lutfi Syehban said the visits were to identify sufferers who had not been detected yet.The mobile visits will start on Wednesday next week. Lutfi explained the visits would be carried out five times a month by targeting five locations at Ceng Ini, Sungai Tahang, Pondok Jagung, and more in Ciputat and Pamulang.Joniansyah