November 12, 2009
Quoting health ministry figures, the ILNA News Agency said today that Iran has recorded at least 3,409 deaths from AIDS, and another 2,097 people have been diagnosed with the disease. To date, 20,130 people, of whom 93 percent are men, have been diagnosed with HIV. Blaming a shortage of testing facilities and the fear of stigma, the ministry previously has estimated that the actual number of HIV infections is four times the number of registered cases. Intravenous drug use is the most common route of HIV transmission in Iran, the ministry said.