Barahona province leads in AIDS, official says

Santo Domingo.- "The female population knows that we have data on married men who have sex with other men in secret, often for pay and it’s regrettable, since this leads to transmitting the disease HIV-AIDS to their wives."

The statement was made Tuesday by National HIV-AIDS Council (Conavihsida) director Victor Terrero, who also urged Dominicans to use condoms as a way to protect themselves.

He revealed that a survey on key populations found the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community at southwestern Barahona province had the highest HIV-AIDS prevalence with 6.9%, followed by Greater Santo Domingo, with 6.5%.

He said unprotected sexual relations pose the highest risk of contagion to many sexually-transmitted diseases that can kill or disable a person.

Terrero added that people are careless when they believe that it’ll never happen to them, and urged that schools must educate students about these issues and how they can protect themselves. "The condom is the most effective way to avoid getting the HIV-AIDS virus, as well as hundreds of sexually transmitted diseases, to maintain a stable and loyal relationship between the couple."