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High AIDS rate among health workers

    JOHANNESBURG

    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.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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