This file photo taken Nov. 19, 2019, shows South Korean activists holding a ceremony to mark World AIDS Day in central Seoul on Nov. 29, 2019, two days ahead of the annual international day. (image: Civic Group)
SEOUL, July 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among adolescents in South Korea has been rising in recent years, a report said Monday, stressing the need for state efforts to stem the trend.
South Korea reported 469 new HIV patients in their 10s and 20s in 2019, up sharply from 415 a year earlier, according to the report by the Korea Federation for HIV/AIDS Prevention.
The number had been on a steady increase since 2011 when 248 new adolescent cases were reported.
The figure increased to 296 in 2012, 342 in 2013, 384 in 2014, 425 in 2015 and 440 in 2016 before receding to 430 in 2017 and 415 in 2018.
Last year, teens and young adults in their 20s accounted for 38.3 percent of all new HIV infections in South Korea, up from 34.4 percent from the previous year.
The report said the government should come up with more active measures to reduce HIV infections among young South Koreans, which could emerge as a social problem.
(Yonhap)
