12 Jordanians diagnosed with HIV/AIDS this year

Twelve Jordanians were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the first eight months of this year, raising the total number of cases discovered since 1986 to 243, a Ministry of Health official said on Monday. Bassam Hijjawi, director of the ministry's primary healthcare department, said the diagnosed cases account for 80 per cent of the real figure. "The actual number is higher because some patients have the disease but are not aware of the fact as the symptoms are not yet present," he told The Jordan Times over the phone yesterday. Noting that Jordan is classified as having a low incidence of the disease, Hijjawi said the actual incidence of HIV/AIDS is 10 times the discovered cases in some countries with high prevalence. According to a recent Ministry of Health report, 19 HIV/AIDS cases were diagnosed among Jordanians in 2010 up from 14 in 2009. Hijjawi added that 34 cases were diagnosed among non-Jordanians living in the country since the beginning of the year, raising the total number of cases among foreigners since 1986 to 539. In accordance with World Health Organisation agreements, foreigners who are infected with HIV/AIDS are sent back to their home countries for treatment. As per coordination among the ministries of health, interior and labour, all foreigners who wish to stay in the Kingdom for over one month, renew their work permits or seek employment should undergo tests for hepatitis B, syphilis, malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and those who test positive for HIV/AIDS are repatriated for treatment. The government is responsible for Jordanians in terms of medical care and medication costs, which stand at JD250 per month for each patient, with the total annual expense amounting to hundreds of thousands of dinars, Hijjawi said in a previous statement. The government last year modified health insurance regulations, entitling foreigners infected with HIV/AIDS who are married to Jordanian women to free medication.