The number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) carriers in South Korea surpassed 8,000 people last year, with nearly 900 newly found to carry the virus that can cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), a government report showed Tuesday.
According to the report by the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 888 people were newly confirmed to carry the human immunodeficiency virus in 2011, raising the total number of HIV carriers in the country to 8,544 people.
This is the first time the number of newly confirmed HIV cases has passed the 800 mark. In 2004, the number of newly confirmed cases stood at 610, and it increased to 740 in 2007 and 797 in 2010.
The largest age group to be newly diagnosed was those in their 40s, at 24.8 percent. People in their 20s followed at 23.4 percent, while people in their 30s and 50s trailed at 22.3 percent and 16.1 percent, respectively.
Ninety-two percent of all diagnosed HIV sufferers, or 7,860 people, were male. Among newly confirmed HIV cases, males also outnumbered females at 827 cases, or 93.1 percent.
Of the total HIV carriers whose route of infection could be traced, 99.2 percent said they caught the disease through sexual contact, with 60.4 percent saying that sexual contact was with a member of the opposite gender.
Among the overall HIV cases known last year, 1,512 people died after the virus developed into AIDS, while the remaining 7,032 people remained alive as of last year, according to the report.
As of the end of 2010, 34 million people were living with HIV worldwide, according to UNAIDS.(Yonhap)