233 AIDS cases detected in Dubai in 2010

Dubai recorded 233 AIDS cases in 2010, including 56 Emiratis, and the bulk of them were transmitted through extra-marital sexual intercourse and drug injections, according to the emirate’s health authority. Victims aged between 25 and 40 years accounted for most of the cases while they also included infants and children aged below 10 years, the authority said in a report published in the Dubai-based Emirat Alyoum daily on Tuesday. The report also showed five of the Emirati victims were women while 109 of the 177 expatriates suffering from the killer disease were men. According to the report, sexual intercourse and drugs injections were the main cause of those cases. “The main cause of those cases was sexual relationships outside marriage….another key reason is drug injections,” said Dr Laila Al Dibl, former director of the contagious disease section at Rashid Hospital. “many female victims contracted the disease through their husbands.” Another expert said some Emiratis were infected by the acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome through blood transmission abroad or at barber shops, which do not abide by hygienic conditions.