Health Ministry officials’ emphasised the need of creating awareness on the disease as the number of HIV positive cases is gradually increasing.

The latest annual report of the National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSACP) disclosed since the identification of the first HIV infected Sri Lankan in 1987, a total of 2,308 HIV positive persons has been reported up to end 2015.

During 2015, 235 HIV cases were reported to the NSACP, which is the highest in a year so far.

Health Ministry said that there have been a reported 68 and 59 cases of HIV during the first and second quarters of 2016, respectively. A number of nine and 14 deaths were reported during this period.

The estimated number of total infected adults living with HIV is believed to be over 4,000, the ministry statistics showed.

According to the annual report, the highest number of HIV infected persons has been reported from the Western and the North Western Provinces.

The high-risk group is mostly males, while the numbers of infected females have also escalated.

Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Survey Among Populations at Higher Risk of HIV in Sri Lanka report noted that while over two-thirds of Female Sex Workers in Colombo know where to obtain an HIV test, only just over half have ever been tested.

Less than half (42.6%) were tested in the last 12 months (prior to the report) and know their result. Those who have never tested cited a lack of knowledge on where to go as a reason for not having undergone tests.