Portland Health Dept. Continuing Drive against Spread of HIV/AIDS

The Portland Health Department is continuing its effort to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the parish. This was stated by Winston Lowe, Sexually Transmitted Diseases Contact Investigator for the Department, in an interview with JIS News. Emphasising that there needed to be a change in the attitude towards sexual activities, he said the Portland Health Department would be intensifying its public education programme against the spread of STDs in the communities and to continue with its condom distribution drive.
Four hundred cases of HIV/AIDS have been reported in Portland since the disease was first diagnosed in the parish in 1982. Mr. Lowe pointed out that some 166 of those persons have died.
He noted that 60 cases were diagnosed in the parish during 2006, an increase over the previous year.Mr. Lowe said the highest incidence of the disease was among persons in the age group of 25 to 39 years.On other STDs, Mr. Lowe pointed out syphilis and gonorrhoea were on the decline in parish.