Civil war facilitating spread of AIDS

The civil war in Angola was accelerating the spread of HIV/AIDS because of increased prostitution and troop movements, an expert warned on Thursday. Dr Dulcino Serrano, the head of the national anti-AIDS programme, said unemployment and poverty among those displaced by the fighting had led to an increase in prostitution. Constant military movements as the army chases the UNITA rebels and the chaotic social infrastructure had made it difficult to stem the increase in the number of HIV cases, Serrano told an AIDS conference. At the current rate of infection, 1 million Angolans in the 15-49 age group would be infected by 2009, according to Serrano. She said that in 52 percent of cases the virus was transmitted through heterosexual intercourse. Homosexual relations accounted for only about 1 percent of cases. The other cases stemmed from blood transfusions or babies born infected. Intravenous drug use is virtually unknown in Angola.