The Tangerang Health Agency's voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) team identified at least 142 HIV/AIDS cases in the regency between January and May this year, an agency official said.
"The spread of the virus in Tangerang regency is worrying because 10 percent of people living with HIV are between 15 and 24 years old," said Yuliah Iskandar, head of communicable disease prevention and environmental sanitation, on Saturday.
"We categorized people with HIV according to age group and occupation. We found a significant increase in the 15-24 age group this year," she said.
The data came from the Tangerang General Hospital (RSUD) and at Al-Qadr Hospital. They recorded 112 people with HIV and 30 with fully developed AIDS.
"The figure is just the tip of the iceberg because not everyone potentially living with HIV is willing to get tested," she said. "We suspect the virus here is mostly spread through intravenous drug use and unsafe sex," she said.
She said she believed the figure would continue to increase for the rest of the year.
"The increase in the 15-24 age group should be a warning for the government. At the same time, it indicates HIV awareness and the importance of getting tested have improved," she said.
To curb the spread of the virus, the agency continues to run an educational program on sexually transmitted infections through VCTs and community health centers.
"The problem we are now facing is a lack of officers to identify new HIV cases. We also don't have enough volunteers to support people with HIV," she said.
Last year, HIV cases in the regency reached 140 and AIDS cases reached 56.
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