Booming tourism could increase AIDS risk

Deputy Health Minister of Sri Lanka Lalith Dissanayake has warned that a booming tourism industry in the country could lead to a higher risk in the spread of HIV/AIDS. Addressing a HIV/AIDS awareness campaign, Dissanayake has said that there is a great need for awareness and to combat the disease.

He has said that the Health Ministry is committed to ensure that no new HIV/AIDS cases are reported from the country and that no more deaths happen as a result of the disease.

“With the development of tourism there is a greater risk and people should be informed of the dangers they face,” Dissanayake has noted. He has added that children should also be better informed of diseases, especially HIV/AIDS.

According to the National STD/AIDS Control Programme statistics, since 1987 there have been 1,597 reported HIV positive cases in Sri Lanka and 8.4% of those have been reported last year alone. Health authorities have so far diagnosed 56 children that were HIV positive. (www.colombopage.com)