1 in 4 pregnant women in South Africa has HIV

The South African government has released its annual figures on HIV and AIDS, which show a continued increase in the numbers of people contracting the virus. About 4.7 million South Africans currently have the virus, compared with 4.2 million in 1999.

Some 24.5% of pregnant women were infected with HIV, according to a survey of 16548 blood samples in the year 2000. The equivalent figures for 1998 and 1999 were 22.8% and 22.4% respectively.

The government's claim that the rate of increase in the disease was slowing prompted questioning from several experts in the field. The controversy has arisen from the 1998 figure, which experts believe was as an overestimate.

Several provinces showed a substantial rise in prevalence, such as Kwa-Zulu Natal, which showed a rate among pregnant women of 36.2% compared with 32.5% in the previous year.

The most worrying increase was among young women in their late 20s, who showed a prevalence rate of 30.6% The survey's authors noted that this group of women has consistently shown the highest rates of increase over the years.

Women aged under 20 showed a much lower prevalence rate (16.1%).