The number of new HIV/AIDS cases on the Island is dropping according to the latest statistics.

Ten new cases of HIV were reported to the Department of Health last year, bringing the total number of cases reported since 1985 to 533.

Although last year's figure is a marginal increase on 2002, when nine new cases were reported, the Island's Chief Medical Officer claims that the general trend is downward.

Yesterday Dr. John Cann said: "Normally, we look at a five-year period when dealing with small numbers. One person more is really not a significant difference and is not really an increase. However, we have had a decline in numbers over the past few years."

Eleven patients developed AIDS last year and a total of 387 people are known to have died from AIDS.

"The number of deaths has declined steadily. But this could be attributed to high quality care. So only time will tell if the numbers continue to decrease or start to rise."

Intravenous drug use was reported as the mode of exposure in 54.4 percent of the new AIDS cases reported .

Dr. Cann said: " Intravenous drug use was an 80 or 90 percent risk factor in the past but this gradually declined to almost the same level of heterosexual or homosexual sex. The trend is that the categories are all about equal for modes of exposure to HIV/AIDS. except there are fewer cases related to blood transfusions."

Among the ten cases of HIV reported last year 30 percent were in the 20-29 year age group.(see box).

Dr. Cann finds this distressing.

"It is worrying that 30 percent of the reported HIV cases are in the 20-29 year age group because this means that they were infected at a very early age (teens).

When asked if he thought the numbers were due to teens not practising safe sex Dr. Cann said: "Well, it is hard to tell. I don't have a series of behavioural risk factor surveys. People understand about safe sex but it is whether they act on it. We do hope to conduct more surveys on behavioural risk factors."