Since its initial tally in 1985, the number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in South Korea has passed 5,000 for the first time, according to a government health report (au.biz.yahoo.com/Yonhap News Agency, 10/18).
In its quarterly HIV/AIDS report, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) showed that 5,155 South Koreans had contracted the disease. HIV infections have increased in recent years–a total of 575 new cases were reported in the first nine months of this year, compared to 219 in all of 2000.
The KCDC said that most HIV infections in the country resulted from unsafe sex and that condom usage in South Korea is currently at about 20 to 25 percent. The agency plans to work on raising public awareness about HIV by promoting condom use and safe sex practices.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
