4 People With HIV/AIDS In Belitung Die, Health Office: They Are Closed

BABEL - Health Service (Dinkes) noted that four HIV/AIDS sufferers in Belitung Regency died until early December 2024.

"We recorded that as many as four people with HIV/AIDS died until early December 2024," said Head of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the Belitung Health Office Sri Agustini in Tanjungpandan, Monday, December 2, confiscated by Antara.

According to him, the four cases of HIV/AIDS death in the area consist of three patients who have not undergone treatment and one patient who has undergone treatment.

"They were found after their condition was severe, because they were closed and didn't want to check themselves," he said.

He invited the general public to remove the stigma against Prang with HIV/AIDS (ODHA).

"By removing this negative stigma, we hope that HIV sufferers can be motivated and not be ashamed to check themselves out," he said.

He said that the elimination of negative stigma against ODHA could make their lives normal like the general public.

"So they don't need to be ostracized from the community and don't need to be ostracized from work. So actually now HIV services don't need to hide, but they are afraid and think people haven't accepted their conditions," he said.

In addition, he continued, the Belitung Health Office also found 23 new cases of HIV in the area until early December 2024.

With the discovery of these 23 new cases of HIV, Sri continued, the total number of HIV/AIDS sufferers in the area totaled 114 people.

"They all routinely carry out health checks and take medication, every six months we do an examination of the virus in their bodies," he said.

He appealed to the public to avoid risky sex behavior that has the potential to contract the HIV virus.

"One of the factors causing this is that there is no legal or partner-changed sex behavior, it can also be through syringes or blood transfusions," he said.