ANTANANARIVO, Sept 18 (AFP) - Health authorities on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar are battling to resist the spread of AIDS, but admit that while they have so far had some success, the deadly disease is slowly gaining ground.

Compared with many African states, Madagascar has escaped lightly: along with Mali, Mauritius and Senegal, relatively few people in the island nation are infected by HIV, or the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.

But figures released shortly before the 13th international conference on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted disease in Africa (ICASA) opens in Nairobi on Sunday show a worrying rise in infection rates.

Provisional results of the screening of 9,548 pregnant women in July and August, disclosed to AFP, show an infection rate of about 1 percent.

According to Dr Bruno Rakoto, director general of the anti-AIDS unit at the health ministry, the results can be extrapolated to the population at large.

As Madagascar has a population of 16 million that would give a figure of 160,000 HIV-positive people, with a peak of 1.4 percent in the north and northeast of the island.

A previous figure put the infection rate at 0.3 percent.

"In 1990, South Africa was also at 1 percent. Today, 25 percent of the population is affected," said Barison Andriamahefazasy, the local World Health Organisation AIDS counsellor.

"These results are serious since, above 1 percent, the country enters a generalised phase of propagation of AIDS.

"The most infected group are the young, between 25 and 29 years old. They also are the group that spreads the infection the most," he said

"Still, it is not too late because a country like Senegal also had a 1 percent rate 10 years ago and it has managed to contain the spread, thanks in particular to a message of prevention directed at the young."

AIDS was declared a "national cause" in December by President Marc Ravalomanana. A national anti-AIDS committee was set up and a series of campaigns initiated in the media.

One black spot is the high rate of sexually tramsitted disease (STD) in Madagascar: at 14 percent it is one of the highest in the world.

Causes include the widespread practices of polygamy, promiscuity and sexual tourism.

Poverty and ignorance make things worse and free screening centres are not always operational.

"With these results the race against the clock has begun," Rakoto said.

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