AIDS Cases Reach 55,396 Worldwide as More Countries Report Figures
GENEVA — The number of AIDS cases reported worldwide has increased to 55,396 in 122 countries, the World Health Organization said Thursday.
Jonathan Mann, director of the organization’s AIDS program, said the latest country to begin reporting cases is Ethiopia, reporting five as of June 30. In all, nine new countries have reported AIDS cases since June 1, when the overall figure stood at about 52,000.
The World Health Organization has said the actual number of AIDS victims could be at least twice that, due to unreported cases.
The organization estimates that from 50 million to 100 million people worldwide will be infected with the AIDS virus by 1991 and that 10% to 30% of them can be expected to develop the disease.
The Geneva-based U.N. affiliate reiterated its opposition to screening travelers for AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Mann said screening travelers “will not work as a disease prevention measure.â€
Screening is not always reliable because the AIDS virus can take six to eight weeks to appear in the blood after infection, and because the test is sometimes inaccurate, Mann said. Also, he said, people could forge test certificates.
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