34,000 persons infected with Aids in Portugal

LISBON, July 29 (Xinhua) -- About 34,000 adults and teenagers over 15 years old in Portugal were registered as infected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Aids in 2007, according to a report published on Tuesday by the Joint United Nation Program on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS).

According to the Report on the World Epidemic of HIV/Aids 2008,the Aids death toll in Portugal nearly reached 500 in 2007.

The number of women infected with Aids rose to 9,400 in 2007 from the 2001 figure of 7,700.

However, the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics said in February 2008 that the number of diagnosed Aids cases in Portugal was reduced in the period of 2000-2006.

The number of new Aids cases decreased 56.5 percent, dropping from 1,022 cases in 2000 to 577 in 2006.

Portugal is among the 16 countries with more than 75 percent ofcoverage on the treatment of Aids for affected adults and children. Other countries include Germany, England, Denmark, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba and Israel.