Kurdistan's health ministry counts number of people living with AIDS this year

Baghdad-INA


The Kurdistan Region Health Ministry announced Wednesday that 69 AIDS cases have been reported this year, confirming that health teams are working to screen all foreign arrivals and those who want to marry, blood donors and recipients to control the spread of the disease.
 
"Sixty-nine AIDS cases have been recorded this year, including 58 foreign residents and 11 from the region," Region Health Minister Saman al-Barzanji said at a press conference held today on the occasion of World AIDS Awareness Day, attended by an Iraqi News Agency (INA) reporter.
"All the cases recorded in the region from our citizens in the past years, were 48 cases, all of whom have their own bags and files and are undergoing ongoing health care," al-Barzanji said.
 
"All foreign arrivals in the region are screened for AIDS as a condition of residence, and all those wishing to marry, blood donors and recipients are screened," he said, adding that "our health teams are working on these tests periodically, including hotel workers."
 
"The seriousness of AIDS lies in the fact that it is possible for a patient who carries viruses to show no symptoms for years, which causes the risk of transmission to other members of the community," he said, adding that "drugs and tattoos are major causes of infection."