2016.12.01
19 people in Okinawa suffer from AIDS
Okinawa Department of Public Health and Medical Care, Health and Longevity Division announced Thursday, the World AIDS Day, that the number of people in Okinawa suffering from full-blown AIDS has decreased to 19, as of the end of November. The number decreased for the second consecutive year from 2014 when there were 33 people with full blown AIDS, which is 21.1 percent of the people infected with the virus.
Regarding the number of people who were infected with AIDS or newly infected with AIDS in fiscal 2015, the number of reported patients per 100,000 of population in Okinawa places the prefecture in the 3rd place in the nation, and in the number of people with AIDS, Okinawa is in the 2nd place. The reported new patients this year are all males.
Officials at the Okinawa Prefectural Government say, “The earlier the treatment starts, the more there’s the possibility of avoiding developing the full-blown AIDS.” The government calls for people suspecting to have been exposed to the virus to have the HIV test that is free and anonymous at all health centers in the prefecture.