High AIDS rate among health workers

The preliminary findings of a new study have indicated a high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among South African health care workers. According to the country's Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), this raises the alarming possibility of a high risk of HIV transmission in hospitals and clinics. The council said more than 16 percent of some 2,000 workers surveyed were HIV-positive, with an even higher proportion [20 percent] of HIV infection among young workers [aged 18 to 35]. Dr Olive Shisana, executive director of HSRC's AIDS research programme, said in a statement: "This has major implications for the future supply of health care professionals." She said the HIV/AIDS epidemic was exacting a heavy psychological toll on health care workers, with an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 workers having died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2000.