Nearly 20,000 infected with HIV in Iran: report

It said the highest rate of HIV infection, 40.2 percent, was among the 25 to 34 age group, with most victims being men. Males accounted for 93.3 percent of all infected cases.

With testing facilities limited and HIV-infected people or those living with AIDS often unwilling to come forward, the health ministry estimates that Iran actually has 80,000 HIV cases — four times higher than the registered figure.

According to official ministry figures, however, at least 3,236 people have died in Iran after developing full-blown AIDS, although the report did not say when such deaths started being recorded. The main cause of infection remained intravenous drug use, the report said, with 77.5 percent of people contracting the virus this way.

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