Diane Montoya, Chief Officer in the Ministry of Health, and Dr Kiran Kumar, Medical Officer of Health at the forum.

By Mwangi Ngamate
mwangi@caymannetnews.com

AIDS has killed a total of 30 people in the Cayman Islands since 1985 - when the first HIV tests were performed.

About 50 percent of those who died in Cayman comprised people from ages 30 to 39, while no one between 25 and 29, a vulnerable age group, has died from the disease.

Currently, 14 people on Cayman have AIDS, which develops in HIV-positive individuals, when symptoms of the disease are manifested in the host.

Releasing these results, Medical Officer of Health Dr Kiran Kumar said that out of the 85 cases of HIV in Cayman, as many as 10 people have left the Island, whereas a total of 31 people are still living here.

Dr. Kiran said that, in terms of accurate figures, these numbers were well above average compared to elsewhere in the Caribbean. In the Cayman Islands, doctors are required by law to report how many AIDS patients they are treating, he explained.

And private doctors rely on the Health Services Authority for their patients’ follow-up treatment - the necessary antiretroviral therapy.

Speaking at the forum held on media sensitisation held at the Cayman Islands Hospital, Monday, 1 December, Dr Kiran announced that of the 57 people infected on-island, 23 are men and 34 are women.

“This underscores a dangerous global trend,” he said pointing out that women have become more vulnerable to the disease.

Diane Montoya, Chief Officer in the Ministry of Health, underscored the need for accurate media reports.

“Accurate and fair reporting is needed by journalists, to ensure that proper attention to the pandemic is given by the public,” she said.

HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, leads to “acquired immuno deficiency syndrome” (AIDS), which suppresses the immune system, leaving individuals open to opportunistic diseases. People with AIDS can succumb to diseases that are not usually fatal including tuberculosis and pneumonia.

In the Cayman Islands, 1994 was the year showing the highest number of new HIV cases with 11 people diagnosed. In 2006, there were seven cases.

“Using the global methodology, 67 percent of this number had infections through heterosexual transmission,” said Dr Kumar.

Dr Kumar said that up to 20 people living in Cayman are likely to be unaware of their HIV status and so it is prudent to have more people tested.

Jones Madeira, of the Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of Health, said the numbers of the pandemic are putting a strain on the region’s economies.

Up to 230,000 people in the Caribbean are HIV positive, and an estimated 20,000 were infected last year. Roughly 14,000 people in the region have died of AIDS-related illnesses.

Mr Madeira said that since HIV infects people in their most productive years, it has already become an economic strain for the governments of the Caribbean, which now has the second fastest growth rate in HIV infection after Africa.

Roger McLean, a health economist from Trinidad & Tobago, said AIDS and HIV infection has led to economic losses in the region. The disease results in high health care costs, loss of productivity, unemployment, and reduced consumer spending. He projected that due to the pandemic, from 2003 through 2015, the government of Guyana will lose 2.73 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), with Trinidad & Tobago losing 2.87 percent, and Suriname losing 1.18 percent.