HIV in Transnistria is transmitted mostly by sexual contact

In 70% of the cases in the Transnistrian region, HIV is transmitted by means of sexual contact, Info-Prim Neo'c correspondent in Tiraspol reports, quoting the local AIDS Prevention Center. According to the Center, there are 2,041 persons living with AIDS in Transnistria. 70-75% of the infected persons are aged between 20 and 29 and 30 and 39. Petru Alievski, the head of the epidemiology section of the National Clinical Hospital in Tiraspol, said 220-250 cases of AIDS have been confirmed during the last 2-3 years. In 60-70% of the cases, the illness was transmitted by sexual contact, in 25-30% through blood, while in 5% from mother to fetus. The HIV-infected persons in Transnistria make up 0.4% of the population, Alievski said. An AIDS Prevention Center and a diagnosis laboratory had been opened in 2007 in the region to combat the acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The first AIDS case in Transnistria was recorded in 1989. It was a seven-year-old child from Bender town, who died the same year.