日本の新HIV感染者とAIDS患者増加 2006年

Record numbers of new HIV infections and AIDS patients in Japan in 2006
The Associated Press
Published: February 7, 2007

TOKYO: The numbers of new infections of HIV and AIDS patients in Japan hit record highs in 2006, the Health Ministry said Wednesday, underscoring concerns over rising infections.

The number of new HIV infections last year was 914, up nearly 10 percent from 2005, according to preliminary data released by the ministry's AIDS Surveillance Committee.

The number of those who developed AIDS in 2006 was 390, up 6.3 percent from the year before.

Both numbers were a record high since the ministry began taking statistics in 1985.

The report said that a majority of those newly infected with HIV were homosexual men and that there was an increase in infection numbers among people in their 30's or older compared with 2005.

Ministry official Kozo Akino said that while actual infections may be spreading, the surge in the number of infections is also because more people are getting tested.