LISBON, Nov 29 (AFP) - Portugal, the only western European nation where HIV infections increased over the past decade, said Monday it would launch a major national study in 2005 into the prevalence rate of the disease in the country.

Health Minister Luis Filipe Pereira said the study would involve carrying out anonymous HIV testing on a cross-section of the population as well as a survey into lifestyle habits as part of intensified measures against the rising number of infections in the country.

"We are making an effort to learn what is going on in Portugal," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on HIV.

The minister said the study would be launched in March at the latest and the results, expected by the middle of the year, would be used to improve public education campaigns.

Portugal had an HIV incidence rate of 78.6 cases per one million people in 2003, compared to an average in the 25-member European Union of 14.2 cases, figures released last week by the bloc's statistics office Eurostat showed.

It was also the only nation among the older 15 EU member states where the incidence rate of HIV rose between 1994 and 2003, increasing from 68.1 to 78.6.

Health experts blame a reluctance to use condoms, as well as lingering and widespread misconceptions regarding the spread of the virus despite public education efforts, for the high prevalance rate of HIV in Portugal.

Four in five Portuguese said they never use a condom during sexual relations, a study of over 6,000 people published in January found.

As of mid-November Portugal had recorded just over 26,000 HIV infections since the first case of the disease was detected in the country in 1983.

The health ministry estimates that Portugal, one of western Europe's poorest nation, spends some 100 million euros (130 million dollars) on the treatment of HIV infected patients each year.

041129
AF0411D7

©AFP 2004.. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission.  http://www.afp.com/

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

©1990, 2004 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.