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Worries over third cluster of HIV cases

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Record rise in infections with Aids virus rings alarm bells

The discovery of a third cluster of HIV infections and the rapidly increasing number of new cases in the city is setting off alarm bells among health officials and Aids activists.

The discovery of the third cluster, which involved at least eight men, was revealed yesterday as health officials reported 111 new HIV cases between April and June - a record for new cases in a single quarter.

The Centre for Health Protection found the eight Chinese men, aged 22 to 42, had an HIV infection with similar gene sequencing. They were diagnosed between May last year and July this year and all had contracted the virus through homosexual or bisexual contact.

'The detection of this new cluster echoed the rising number of reported HIV infections in men who have sex with men. It suggested the presence of a local HIV transmission in Hong Kong,' Wong Ka-hing, a consultant with the Department of Health's Special Prevention Programme, said.

'We are also very concerned that the men in this cluster are all quite young, with an average age of 30.

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