Testing pregnant women for HIV and AIDS may be made compulsory in Singapore, where an epidemic is looming, a top health official told Parliament on Friday. Such a move would be aimed at minimizing the risk of transmission to a baby, said Dr. Balaji Sadasivan, senior minister of state for health. If a woman tests positive for the HIV virus which causes AIDS and receives medication, Balaji said the risk of transmission can be reduced from 25 per cent to 2 per cent. Balaji warned last week the city-state is facing an "alarming AIDS epidemic" if no action is taken and said homosexual men's unsafe practices were the biggest cause of concern followed by men who had sex with prostitutes in other countries. While Singapore currently has one of the lowest levels of HIV infection in Asia, Balaji said there have been more than 300 new AIDS cases this year and expectations are in excess of 1,000 in 2010. World Health Organization figures estimate 4,000 Singaporeans currently have HIV. Balaji said a "denial" of the problem was thwarting effecting AIDS education efforts. "Most people who get AIDS/HIV - whether gays or heterosexual men having casual sex...know of the risk of HIV and they know what they need to do to protect themselves, but they think it will not be them who is going to get the disease," Balaji said. Balaji acknowledged only 5 per cent of resources given to the Communicable Disease Centre is used for public education. Action For AIDS, a non-government group providing AIDS prevention education, said other ministries should be included in the fight against the disease. Balaji earlier ruled out a large-scale campaign including the distribution of condoms as unsuitable for "conservative" Singaporeans.
