Two out of Three Domestic AIDS Patients Are in Their 30s or Younger

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Last year, the number of reported cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients in South Korea was 1,222, an increase of 16 from the previous year.

According to the "2019 HIV/AIDS Report" published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 3rd, among the HIV/AIDS patients reported last year, men accounted for 91% with 1,111 cases. Women accounted for 111 cases, or 9%. By age group, those in their 20s were the most numerous with 438 cases (35.8%), followed by those in their 30s with 341 cases (27.9%), and those in their 40s with 202 cases (16.5%). There were 129 cases in their 50s, 81 cases aged 60 and above, and no cases under the age of 14.

Among all patients, those in their 20s and 30s accounted for 63.7%. There were 1,005 domestic cases and 217 foreign nationals. The increase of 16 cases is presumed to be all domestic, with the number of foreign nationals remaining the same as last year.

Among domestic HIV-infected individuals, 821 cases, accounting for 82%, were infected through sexual contact. There were 442 cases of homosexual contact and 379 cases of heterosexual contact. Regarding the motivation for testing, 332 cases were tested to confirm the cause of disease due to clinical symptoms, accounting for more than one-third of the total. Many were tested voluntarily at public health centers or hospitals due to suspected infection despite no symptoms, or were discovered during pre-surgical examinations.

An HIV-infected person refers to a patient infected with the HIV virus, while an AIDS patient refers to someone whose immune system has been damaged after HIV infection, leading to opportunistic infections. Opportunistic infections are infections that do not usually cause disease in healthy individuals but can cause serious infections in people with weakened immune systems.

The number of AIDS patients per 100,000 population in South Korea is 0.3, and HIV-infected individuals number 2.0, which is the second lowest among OECD countries after Japan. In the United States, there are 5.4 AIDS patients and 11.8 HIV-infected individuals per 100,000 population. The total number of domestic patients exceeded 100 for the first time in 1995 and surpassed 1,000 in 2013. Since then, the numbers have fluctuated slightly to the present.

Jung Eun-kyung, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, "AIDS is a chronic infectious disease that is sufficiently manageable worldwide due to the development of treatments," adding, "The national policy focuses on disease prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment." She also added, "By following preventive measures such as safe sexual contact and if infection is suspected, anonymous testing is available free of charge at public health centers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.