On occasion of the 1 December celebration of the United Nations World AIDS Day newspaper headlines focused today on the prevalence of the disease around the world. The hope is to raise awareness among the new generations as to the dangers of early sex and preventing sexually transmissible diseases. A document from the Department for the Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS (DIGECITSS) says 10,738 new cases of AIDS were detected from January to October of this year. The projected number of AIDS caused deaths by 2005 will be 78,000. So far 38,050 persons have died of AIDS in the DR, despite the existence of several prevention programs. Men are the most affected with 64.9% of the deaths, followed by those 25-34 years old with 40.6% and youths 15-24 years old that account for 13.7% of the deaths. The highest incidence of the disease is found in Santo Domingo (pop. 2.3 million) with 49.3% of the cases. Heterosexuals primarily transmit the disease in the DR, with only 7.8% of the victims being homosexuals. UN statistics show that in the DR 1 adult in 40 is HIV-infected. For more information, see http://www.unaids.org/wac/2000/wad00/presskit_wad.html
