MONROVIA, Nov 23 (AFP) - At least 50,000 Liberians are infected with AIDS, according to figures that are only the "tip of the iceberg," the US aid agency said here Tuesday.

A two-week survey conducted in Liberia by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) used information gathered from seven of Liberia's 13 counties by the national AIDS control program.

The figures were based on the screening of samples from donors who have given blood at health centres in those counties, according to Adams Lincoln, a health coordinator for USAID in Liberia.

Lincoln said a 1998 epidemiology report showed that the highest incidence of AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases was in Grand Bassa County some 90 kilometers (55 miles) southeast of Monrovia.

The county was host to the Ugandan contingent of the "expanded" west African peacekeeping force in 1994, he noted.

The USAID official said he suspected higher infection rates in Grand Gedeh and Maryland counties which border Cote d'Ivoire, but health authorities have been unable to screen people in these areas because of a lack of resources and the poor state of roads.

Lincoln said that health experts believed infection rates would rise as more refugees return from neighboring countries.

"We all know that many young girls with non-marketable skills who sought refuge in neighboring countries engaged in prostitution to make ends meet," Lincoln said. "As they return home we should expect AIDS cases in Liberia to increase."

The US assessment team completed its mission on November 22.

An estimated 22.5 million Africans carry the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) out of 33 million people infected worldwide, according to the United Nations.

The latest official census from 1995 indicated that Liberia's population stood at some 2.7 million.

A seven-year civil war, which cost the lives of some 200,000 people in Liberia, ended in 1997.

991123
AF991130

Copyright © AFP or Agence France-Presse, 1999 - AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, that no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics.  http://www.afp.com/