The HIV infection rate in the local gay population has been increasing since 2006, owing to unsafe sex, while a noted AIDS researcher has pointed out that Chinese must break through the sex taboo to tackle the virus transmission.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) recorded 119 cases of HIV infections in the third quarter this year, bringing the case total since 1984 to 3,941, the center announced yesterday.

Thirty-two new cases of AIDS were recorded, bringing the total number to 998 in the past 23 years.

If HIV-infected people do not receive treatment, half of them will progress to AIDS in less than 10 years, said Senior Medical Officer Ho Lei-ming.

Among the new HIV infections, 97 were men and 22 were women.

While in most cases the patient contracted HIV through sexual contact, Ho said, infections through homosexual contact among males have increased.

Homosexuals accounted for approximately one third of the HIV infections in the third quarter, up from only about 20 percent in 2006.

The CHP attributed the phenomenon to unsafe sexual behavior of the gay population.

David Ho Da-i, who devised HIV "cocktails" therapy, found the root problem behind the rising HIV infections was the avoidance of sexuality topics in the society.

"Everyone is shy about this. People don't like to talk about sex or sexuality, but we need to bring it to the forefront," he told reporters after giving a public lecture on AIDS at the University of Hong Kong yesterday.

The university bestowed upon him an honorary doctoral degree.

He added that prevention and education are crucial in the battle against the disease, and society should recognize that the gay population is growing and target the high-risk group with preventive measures.

"Basic prevention messages should be integrated in the education system," the AIDS scientist said, adding that the media should also play a part.

Former United States President Bill Clinton, in town this week, also gave his consent.

Clinton, who also received an honorary doctoral degree, said medicine has become more affordable, but more needs to be done to prevent the spread of the disease.

"We need people who are trained to provide basic health services in the testing and prevention," he said.

Meanwhile, David Ho found Hong Kong's HIV infection situation relatively good when compared with the mainland, the United States, Western Europe and Africa, which are all suffering more from the pandemic.

He added that the central government is moving in the right direction, though there is still room to improve in some provinces, with more financial support.

(HK Edition 12/05/2008 page1)