HIV-positive Iraqis face threats

BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Iraqis contracting the virus that causes AIDS face isolation and threats from religious fundamentalists who view it as a sign of immorality, officials say.

The rate of infection from the human immunodeficiency virus in Iraq is relatively low, with the Iraqi Health Ministry reporting only 44 HIV cases in the country.

Muslim extremists who gained a foothold in the country following the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, however, labeled the few infected persons as "sinners" marked for death, the U.N. humanitarian news agency, IRIN, reported Wednesday.

HIV-contaminated blood entered Iraq in 1985 from France. Since then, health officials reported some 482 cases in Iraq, with 272 of those from Iraqi nationals. Only 44 of those 272 are still alive.

Infected patients receive $85 from the government each month, along with monthly health examinations.

The Health Ministry said it is considering sexual-awareness campaigns, and similar efforts are under way in the Iraqi public school system.

Officials said that despite the threats, there is no evidence suggesting extremists have killed HIV-positive persons in Iraq.