AIDS Rate Doubles in Equatorial Guinea: Study

The prevalence of AIDS in Equatorial Guinea has risen from just over 3 percent in 1997 to more than 7 percent in 2001, said a study carried out by local health authorities. The study was released Monday during the first AIDS forum held in the tiny former Spanish colony. Some 11,000 people of the country's population of 1 million are now HIV-infected, forum organizers said. "More than 65 percent of AIDS cases are women, including some 66 percent between the ages of 15 to 34 years," the study said. Among men infected, some 70 percent are between ages 20 and 49, it said. In recent years, the country has turned into one of the leading oil producers in the Gulf of Guinea, creating an influx of oil workers and a boom in prostitution.

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