Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - November 26, 2000
The official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted the secretary of the National Committee to Combat AIDS, Bahram Yeganeh, as saying that 65 percent of the HIV carriers were infected by injections, especially drug use, 12 percent through sexual contact, 9 percent from blood transfusions, 1 percent was passed from mother to child and 13 percent in "unknown ways."
Yeganeh said that 1.2 million Iranians - especially drug addicts -- are tested every year, and "those affected with venereal diseases and people who frequently travel abroad."
He said that the government provides free treatment to HIV-infected patients and distributes free medicine to prisoners.
Health Minister Mohammad Farhadi said that the majority of the HIV patients were prison inmates, describing AIDS as a "time bomb that could explode" if every sector does not participate in awareness campaigns against the disease.
He was speaking at a seminar in Tehran marking International AIDS Day, which falls on Dec.1, but Iran marked it earlier because it falls this year during the Muslim fasting holy month Ramadan, which starts in most Muslim countries on Monday.
Unlike most traditionally Muslim countries, Iran has in recent years been active in promoting awareness on AIDS prevention despite its strict Islamic system in which illicit behavior is unacceptable.
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