KHOROG, April 5, Asia-Plus -- 14 new cases of HIV infection detected in Gorno Badakhshan over the first three months of this year have brought a total number of people living with HIV in the area to 146, including nine women, Gulos Shabonov, the deputy director of the GBAO AIDS Center, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

According to him, the largest number of new HIV infection cases was registered in the region in 2009 – 32 cases.

“The largest number of people living with HIV has been registered in Khorog – 107, 18 HIV sufferers have been registered in the Shugnan district, 16 in the Rushan district, two in the Ishkashim district and two others in the Murgab district,” Shabonov said.

122 of the officially registered HIV sufferers in Gorno Badakhshan are injecting drug users (IDUs) and 22 others have contracted the virus through sexual contact.

“Since 2003, 30 HIV sufferers have died in Gorno Badakhshan; 11 of them have died from a narcotic overdose and the remainder has died of concomitant diseases,” the deputy director noted.