ALMA-ATA, Nov. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Although HIV and AIDS cases haven't been so frequently seen in Central Asia, the epidemic is likely to grow in the region because of drug addiction, unprotected sex and other factors, a UN official warned Tuesday.

    Irina Savchenko, UNAIDS' coordinator in Central Asia, told a press conference here that the rapid increase of drug addicts, unprotected sex, and the number of female and baby HIV carriers may cause the epidemic to spread more quickly.

    Savchenko from UNAIDS, the UN body responsible for AIDS combating activities, said statistics showed the five Central Asian countries -- Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- now have about 50,000 patients suffering from HIV and AIDS, one-third of whom are in Kazakhstan.

    Isidora Erasilova, chief of Kazakhstan's national AIDS prevention and control center, said the country has registered 5,440 HIV carriers, of whom 313 have developed into AIDS and 65 died of the disease.

    In the first 10 months of this year, Kazakhstan registered 747 HIV carriers, a 30 percent increase over the same period last year.

    The five Central Asian countries have a combined population of 58 million. These countries' official statistics said there are about 12,000 HIV and AIDS cases, a much smaller number than the UN's estimation. Enditem