A civic group holds a campaign to mark World AIDS Day in Seoul on Dec. 1, 2015. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients surpassed 10,000 for the first time in South Korea last year, the health authorities said Friday.
A total of 10,502 people tested positive for HIV and were diagnosed with AIDS in 2015, up from 9,615 tallied in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDCP).
The figure represents a net increase of accumulative records of HIV infections and AIDS patients on a yearly basis, with the number of deaths taken off.
It is the first time that the figure topped the 10,000 mark since 1985 when the first HIV-positive person was reported in the country.
Out of the total, 92.7 percent of them are male, while those in their 40s accounted for nearly 30 percent.
The CDCP said a combined 1,152 new HIV infections and AIDS patients were added to the number last year, with 1,018 of them South Korean nationals.
(Yonhap)
