The Czech Republic registered a record number of 90 new cases of people infected with the HIV virus in 2005, the director of an AIDS support centre revealed. "Every four days a new case of HIV infection was registered" Miroslav Hlavaty, the director of the reception centre for socially excluded people suffering from HIV, said Thursday.
He said it was "very probable" that the upward trend would be maintained in 2006, given the number of new cases registered in the first two months of the year.
The Czech Republic had 827 people infected with the HIV virus at the end of December, of which 650 were men and 177 women, he said. If current developments are maintained there could be more than 1,000 by the end of the year, he said.
Specialists say the real figure could be 10 times higher.
Overall 118 people have died of AIDS in the country of 10.2 million inhabitants.
