Increase in Sexual Transmission of AIDS in Iran - 2003-12-06

A member of the National Committee for the Fight Against AIDS in Iran believes that with the change in the pattern of AIDS transmission from injection drug use to sexual contact, the number of women and children infected with this disease will increase. Dr. Minou Mohraz, in an interview with the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), emphasizes that the current trend of AIDS in the country is on the rise and that this disease has not been well controlled in Iran. She states that in recent decades, the transmission of AIDS through sexual contact has advanced, and this change has also led to an increase in this disease in our country. She adds that given the change in the pattern of AIDS transmission, the most common mode of transmission in Mediterranean and North African regions has been through sexual contact, which unfortunately is also the dominant pattern in Iran. According to Dr. Mohraz, transmission of AIDS from mother to child constitutes a very low percentage, around 0.3 percent. She further clarifies that 'media can continuously and permanently eliminate misconceptions among people through public education and replace them with positive attitudes for the prevention and control of this disease.' The committee member also states that 'according to announced statistics, about 30,000 people in the country are infected with HIV, of which 694 have died, 53 are in the AIDS stage, and the rest are asymptomatic.' She continues by noting that about 95 percent of those infected are men and 5 percent are women, adding that 'the most at-risk groups for AIDS are young people, and the most common age for the spread of this disease is between 20 to 45 years.' This infectious disease specialist concludes by identifying factors such as the increasing age of marriage, the rising number of runaway girls, and the worsening living conditions as very effective in changing the pattern of AIDS transmission from injection drug use to sexual contact.