NEWS- HIV Found among Myanmar Blood

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Subject: NEWS- HIV Found among Myanmar Blood Donors

HIV Found among Myanmar Blood Donors

               Xinhua
               02-JUL-99

               YANGON (July 2) XINHUA - HIV has been found among
               blood donors in Myanmar after they went through blood
test
               in hospitals where HIV test kits are provided, said a
               high-ranking Myanmar health official. 

               Blood testing indicated that HIV has been found in 0.7
               percent of blood donors in Yangon and 0.97 percent in
               Mandalay, two major cities in the country, said Myanmar
               Minister of Health Major-General Ket Sein Thursday. 

               At a meeting here of Myanmar's Central Committee to
               Control and Combat AIDS (CCCC AIDS), Ket Sein, who is
               also the committee's chairman, emphasized the need to
               organize more HIV-free blood donors to reduce the
               percentage of HIV-carrying blood donors. 

               He said HIV can be found in various categories of men in
               various states and divisions though the incidence may
vary. 

               He urged medical officers in the country to speed up
efforts
               to fight the disease. 

               Myanmar CCCC AIDS was first formed in 1989 and
               reorganized in 1998 for consolidation and effectiveness. 

               The Myanmar government annually allocates about 13
               million Kyats (43,000 U.S. dollars) for implementing AIDS
               programs identified in the country's National Health
Plan. 

               According to available official figures, there were
17,846 HIV
               cases and 2,337 AIDS cases in Myanmar by the end of
               1997. The figures for 1998 have not been published yet. 

               Meanwhile, Myanmar is also participating actively in
regional
               AIDS control projects of the Association of Southeast
Asian
               Nations through exchange of information, organization of
               meetings and cooperation.