Government releases AIDS survey findings

The preliminary findings of a new government survey show that Uganda's HIV prevalence rate is higher than previously thought, the Associated Press reported. Based on a national sample of people voluntarily testing for HIV, the findings indicated that seven percent of the adult population - or 800,000 people - were living with HIV/AIDS, compared to the earlier figure of 6.2 percent. Although there has been a declining trend in HIV infections in Uganda - from a peak of 18 percent in 1992 to the current rate of 7 percent - researchers warned that women were more susceptible to HIV infection than men: an estimated 7.9 percent of women were found to be HIV-positive, compared to 6 percent of men. The survey used interviews and blood samples from 18,000 men and women, aged between 15 and 59, and was funded by the US Agency for International Development, the US Centres for Disease Control and Japan.