JAPAN'S ANNUAL REPORT ON HIV/AIDS FOR 2006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 004172 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/J, OES/IHA AND S/GAC DEPT PASS TO NIH/NIAID WESTERN HHS FOR OGHA SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO SOCI KHIV AMED KSCA JA SUBJECT: JAPAN'S ANNUAL REPORT ON HIV/AIDS FOR 2006 TOKYO 00004172 001.5 OF 002 ¶1. Summary: According to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) AIDS Surveillance Committee Annual Report on the HIV/AIDS Epidemic for 2006, 952 new HIV-positive cases and 406 new AIDS cases were reported in Japan during the year. These were larger increases than reported in 2005. The cumulative number of HIV and AIDS cases in Japan for the two decade period since the GOJ started its national survey in 1984 has come to total 8,344 and 4,050 respectively. HIV has been spreading particularly among Japanese males, with sexual contact as the major route of infection for both HIV and AIDS. ¶2. As transmission through same-sex intercourse remained the major HIV/AIDS infection route in 2006, the AIDS Surveillance Committee again warned the government of the need to provide opportunities for HIV/AIDS examinations in the early stage and to promote active countermeasures to prevent further HIV infections in the homosexual population. In addition to Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures, other Japanese prefectures also reported an increase in the number of HIV/AIDS cases. The Committee warned that local governments should take appropriate actions to prevent HIV from further spreading in their areas of responsibility. End summary. -------------- HIV-positive Cases in 2006 -------------- ¶3. The number of HIV-positive cases has trended upward in Japan since 1996. In 2006, 952 new HIV-positive cases were reported, up 120 from the previous year. The total broke the prior record of 832 new cases reported in 2005. A total of 86.8 percent of the cases were contracted through sexual contact -- 63.4 percent through homosexual and 23.4 percent through heterosexual intercourse. Japanese males accounted for 82.7 percent of the total number of cases reported. The routes of infection for the remaining cases were divided into the following categories: intravenous drug use (0.4 percent),mother-to-child transmission (0.1 percent),unknown (8.4 percent),and other (4.2 percent). -------------- AIDS Cases in 2006 -------------- ¶4. In 2006, 406 new AIDS cases with fully developed symptoms were reported, up 39 cases from 2005. Japanese males accounted for 82.5 percent of the total number of AIDS cases reported and 74.9 percent of the AIDS cases were contracted via sexual contact - 40.4 percent through homosexual contact and 34.5 percent through heterosexual intercourse. The remaining cases were divided among the following categories: intravenous drug use (0.7 percent),mother-to-child transmission (0.0 percent),unknown (20.7 percent),and other (3.7 percent). -------------- Infections by Area in 2006 -------------- ¶5. Infections in the areas of Kanto and Koshinetsu, including Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamanashi, and Nagano, accounted for 55.5 percent and 52.0 percent of the total numbers of the country's HIV and AIDS cases respectively in 2006. The number of HIV cases in Tokyo has grown markedly since 1996, reaching 37.2 percent and 24.4 percent of Japan's total HIV and AIDS cases respectively. Tokyo, Osaka, and Aichi prefectures reported the highest levels of infection in Japan, but other areas such as, Hokkaido, Miyagi, Tochigi, Gunma, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka also reported increased infections in 2006. -------------- Cumulative HIV/AIDS Cases -------------- ¶6. Since the start of the national survey in 1984, a cumulative total of 8,344 HIV cases and 4,050 AIDS cases have been logged in Japan. However, HIV and AIDS patients (approximately 1,431) who contracted the virus through contaminated blood products as hemophilia patients in the 1980s are not included in these numbers. The following are the cumulative percentages of HIV cases, listed by infection routes: 35.9 percent through heterosexual contact, 44.7 percent through homosexual contact, 0.5 percent through intravenous drug use, 0.4 percent through mother-to-child transmission, 2.2 TOKYO 00004172 002.2 OF 002 percent through other routes and 16.4 percent through unknown routes. AIDS cases also yielded similar figures: 42.0 percent through heterosexual contact, 28.3 percent through homosexual contact, 0.8 percent through intravenous drug use, 0.4 percent through mother-to-child transmission, 2.7 percent through other routes and 25.8 percent through unknown routes. ¶7. Among the HIV cases, Japanese males accounted for 67.9 percent followed by non-Japanese females (14.8 percent),non-Japanese males (10.3 percent),and Japanese females (7.0 percent). Among the AIDS cases, Japanese males accounted for 72.2 percent followed by non-Japanese males (15.2 percent),non-Japanese females (7.2 percent),and Japanese females (5.4 percent). Both HIV and AIDS cases among Japanese males have increased rapidly since 1999 and reached their highest level to date in 2006. -------------- Local Government Efforts -------------- ¶8. Revised guidelines for preventing HIV/AIDS infections came into force in April 2006. The new guidelines require central and local governments to clarify their roles and responsibilities. They urge local governments in particular to provide residents with more opportunities for HIV testing in order to detect infections and receive appropriate medical treatment in the early stages. The guidelines also urge the GOJ/MHLW to support local government activities by 1) drafting guidelines on conducting HIV examinations and consultations and 2) providing local governments that report higher than average levels of infection with more detailed suggestions of ways to prevent the spread of HIV. ¶9. Local government efforts to encourage residents to have HIV antibody tests appeared successful. The number of people nationally who had voluntary HIV antibody tests in 2006 at local health centers rose 15.6 percent from the previous year. In ten prefectures of particular focus to MHLW, due to their HIV/AIDS infection rates in 2005, the number of people tested increased by 7.0 percent on average from the previous year. Among the ten prefectures -- Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano, Aichi, Osaka and Okinawa -- Nagano was particularly notable with the number of residents taking HIV tests going up 51.7 percent from the previous year. DONOVAN