More Men with HIV/AIDS in 2007 SIGNIFICANTLY MORE MALES than females were diagnosed with both HIV and AIDS in Barbados during the first half of 2007. In information released by the Ministry of Health 86 people were newly diagnosed with HIV; with 49 of these cases (57 per cent) male, while the remaining 37 or 43 per cent were females. It also noted that most new HIV cases recorded are in the 20-to-49 age group, which accounted for 67 out of the 86 persons or 78 per cent. Out of those 67 young adults, 39 were males and 28 were females. Twelve of the 86 persons, or 14 per cent, diagnosed with HIV, were in the 15-to-24 years age group. The average age of persons newly diagnosed with HIV was shown to be 37.2 years. Women were being diagnosed with HIV at a significantly earlier age than men. HIV-related mortality figures showed that for the same period last year, 17 people died from HIV in Barbados. The current trend in Barbados indicates that men are twice as likely to die from HIV when compared to women. The majority of deaths were in the 20 to 49 age group, with 14 out of 17, or 82 per cent of deaths being in this grouping. Senior Medical Officer of Health (HIV/AIDS), Dr Anton Best, said anecdotal data suggested that many persons were diagnosed with HIV too late in the course of the illness, thereby reducing their chances of survival. The cumulative statistics showed that since the onset of the epidemic here in 1984, 3 381 people have been diagnosed with the HIV disease. Of the 3 381 individuals, 2 060 (or 61 per cent) had been diagnosed with full-blown AIDS. At the end of June 2007, 2 066 people, or 61 per cent of all those ever diagnosed with HIV, were known to be still alive. This number was less than half of the total number of persons estimated to be living with HIV in Barbados. Commenting on this latter finding, Best said it was believed that the majority of persons living with HIV may not know that they are infected. This story was adapted from the Barbados Nation Feburary 15th 2008.