MOH and HPB Urge At-risk Groups to go for Regular Testing

29 November 2013

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1. In the first 10 months (January – October) of 2013, another 378 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections were reported among Singapore residents[1]. By extrapolation, it can be expected that the total number of notified HIV cases in 2013 will be similar to that of 2012 (469 cases). Annex A provides detailed data for the cases reported in the first 6 months of 2013. Information on newly reported HIV cases is regularly updated on the Ministry of Health (MOH) website.

Characteristics of new cases of HIV infection reported in first 6 months of 2013

2. Of the 198 Singapore residents detected with HIV infection in the first six months of 2013, 95% are males.

3. Sexual transmission remains the main mode of HIV transmission. Almost all (97%) of the 198 cases acquired the infection through the sexual route. Heterosexual transmission accounted for 43% of these cases while 44% were from homosexual transmission and 10% were from bisexual transmission.

4. Almost half (48%) of the new cases reported in the first half of 2013 were aged 30 to 49 years.

5. Two in five newly reported cases already had late-stage HIV infection[2] when they were diagnosed. This was lower than the proportion of 50% in previous years.

6. Slightly over 40% of the newly reported cases from January to June 2013 had their HIV detected when HIV testing was performed in the course of medical care provision. Another 30% were detected during routine programmatic HIV screening while 20% were detected as a result of voluntary HIV screening. The rest were detected through other types of screening. When differentiated by sexual transmission, a higher proportion of homosexuals (33%) had their HIV infection detected via voluntary screening compared to heterosexuals (8%).

Public advisory

7. The most effective way to prevent HIV infection is to remain faithful to one’s spouse/partner and to avoid casual sex, and sex with sex workers. Persons engaging in high-risk sexual behaviour, such as having multiple sexual partners or engaging in casual or commercial sex, are strongly advised to use condoms to reduce their risk of HIV infection. Condoms should be used consistently and correctly during every sexual encounter.

8. MOH and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) urge individuals at risk of HIV infection to go for regular HIV testing. Regular HIV testing can help an infected person to be diagnosed at an earlier stage of infection. With early diagnosis, a HIV positive person can access care and treatment earlier, and also receive counseling on how to protect their partners from infection.

9. HPB has been working with partner organisations to conduct programmes and campaigns targeted at high-risk individuals to urge them to go for early and regular HIV testing. HPB’s partners conduct various educational outreach programmes on HIV prevention and management using a lifestyle approach. These programmes reaches out to at-risk individuals through social settings to encourage them to take personal proactive measures and have regular HIV testing, so as to allow for early detection and treatment, delay the onset of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and ensure an active and productive life.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH

29 NOVEMBER 2013

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ANNEX A

TABLE 1
NUMBER OF SINGAPORE RESIDENTS REPORTED WITH HIV /AIDS (1985 – Jun 2013)

Table caption

Year	HIV/AIDS
Year	Male	Female	Total	Rate*
1985	2	0	2	0.8
1986	6	1	7	2.8
1987	10	0	10	3.9
1988	15	0	15	5.8
1989	9	1	10	3.8
1990	17	0	17	6.2
1991	39	3	42	15.0
1992	49	6	55	19.3
1993	58	6	64	22.0
1994	76	10	86	29.1
1995	102	9	111	36.8
1996	123	16	139	45.3
1997	157	16	173	55.4
1998	167	32	199	62.6
1999	171	35	206	63.8
2000	193	33	226	69.0
2001	204	33	237	71.3
2002	206	28	234	69.2
2003	212	30	242	71.9
2004	290	21	311	91.1
2005	287	30	317	91.4
2006	327	32	359	101.8
2007	392	31	423	118.1
2008 2009 2010 2011	426 418 403 430	30 45 38 31	456 463 441 461	125.2 124.0 116.9 121.7
2012	437	32	469	122.8
Jan – Jun 2013	188	10	198	-
Total	5414	559	5973	-

* per million population.

TABLE 2
DISTRIBUTION OF HIV/AIDS - INFECTED SINGAPORE RESIDENTS BY MODES OF TRANSMISSION
(1985 – Jun 2013)

Table caption

Mode of Transmission	1985 – 2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013 Jan - Jun
Sexual Transmission
Heterosexual	2114	255	248	284	228	210	220	86
Homosexual	515	130	151	139	163	195	210	87
Bisexual	222	15	34	27	41	42	27	20
Intravenous drug use	67	7	20	7	4	4	2	3
Blood Transfusion	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Renal Transplant overseas	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Perinatal (mother to child)	27	2	0	0	2	0	0	0
Uncertain	109	13	3	6	3	10	10	2
Total	3062	423	456	463	441	461	469	198

TABLE 3
HIV/AIDS - INFECTED SINGAPORE RESIDENTS BY MARITAL STATUS AND SEX (1985 – Jun 2013)

Table caption

Marital status		1985 – 2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013 Jan - Jun
Male
	Single	1642	230	280	255	265	300	295	127
	Married	760	114	105	116	108	101	102	39
	Divorced/Separated	254	42	37	40	26	26	31	20
	Widowed	64	6	4	7	4	3	9	2
Female		0
	Single	71	6	1	8	8	8	7	2
	Married	208	17	17	26	20	14	13	6
	Divorced/Separated	38	7	7	9	6	6	10	2
	Widowed	25	1	5	2	4	3	2	0
Total
	Single	1713	236	281	263	273	308	302	129
	Married	968	131	122	142	128	115	115	45
	Divorced/Separated	292	49	44	49	32	32	41	22
	Widowed	89	7	9	9	8	6	11	2

TABLE 4
HIV/AIDS - INFECTED SINGAPORE RESIDENTS BY ETHNIC GROUP
(1985 – Jun 2013)

Table caption

Ethnic Group	1985 - 2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013 Jan - Jun
Chinese	2547	355	363	341	329	355	356	143
Malay	288	47	71	76	69	77	80	39
Indian	135	11	15	28	27	24	22	8
Others	92	10	7	18	16	5	11	8

TABLE 5
HIV/AIDS - INFECTED MALE SINGAPORE RESIDENTS BY AGE AND MODES OF TRANSMISSION (1985 – Jun 2013)

Table caption

Age group			1985 - 2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013 Jan - Jun
Male	Heterosexual
		15 – 19	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	0
		20 – 29	206	15	11	10	16	12	15	7
		30 – 39	554	33	37	42	30	28	25	10
		40 – 49	515	82	73	72	58	48	42	20
		50 – 59	299	66	59	64	47	48	68	23
		60 & above	236	28	37	52	41	45	39	16
	Homosexual/Bisexual
		15 – 19	14	4	4	2	4	3	9	0
		20 – 29	192	38	52	44	50	73	72	34
		30 – 39	327	61	73	62	77	86	81	28
		40 – 49	158	33	39	45	58	52	58	31
		50 – 59	33	8	15	11	12	18	12	14
		60 & above	6	1	2	2	2	5	4	0
	Others
		0 – 14	14	1	0	0	2	0	0	0
		15 –19	2	1	1	0	1	1	1	1
		20 –29	23	1	3	2	0	1	2	0
		30 –39	59	5	10	5	2	2	2	0
		40 –49	52	6	4	3	3	1	3	3
		50 –59	18	7	4	1	0	7	2	1
		60 & above	10	1	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Total
		0 – 14	14	1	0	0	2	0	0	0
		15 – 19	18	6	7	3	5	4	10	1
		20 – 29	421	54	66	56	66	86	89	41
		30 – 39	940	99	120	109	109	116	108	38
		40 – 49	725	121	116	120	119	101	103	54
		50 – 59	350	81	78	76	59	73	82	38
		60 & above	252	30	39	54	43	50	45	16

TABLE 6
HIV/AIDS - INFECTED FEMALE SINGAPORE RESIDENTS BY AGE AND MODES OF TRANSMISSION
(1985 – Jun 2013)

Table caption

Age group			1985 - 2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013 Jan - Jun
Female	Sexual
		15 – 19	5	3	0	0	1	0	1	1
		20 – 29	114	1	3	8	5	6	3	3
		30 – 39	87	7	10	15	7	7	4	1
		40 – 49	51	13	8	8	8	4	8	2
		50 – 59	38	6	4	6	9	5	12	2
		60 & above	15	0	4	6	7	7	4	1
	Others
		0 – 14	14	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
		15 –19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		20 –29	5	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
		30 –39	6	0	0	1	0	1	0	0
		40 –49	4	0	1	0	1	1	0	0
		50 –59	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		60 & above	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total
		0 – 14	14	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
		15 – 19	5	3	0	0	1	0	1	1
		20 – 29	119	1	3	9	5	6	3	3
		30 – 39	93	7	10	16	7	8	4	1
		40 – 49	55	13	9	8	9	5	8	2
		50 – 59	39	6	4	6	9	5	12	2
		60 & above	17	0	4	6	7	7	4	1