VIENNA, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Health Minister Alois Stoeger on Thursday stressed that preventive measures should be of top priorities in the fight against AIDS.
"Education, information and prevention are the most important tools in the fight against this disease," the minister said in a speech delivered on this year's World AIDS Day.
He also highlighted the importance of proper self-protection, timely diagnosis and early treatment.
The minister warned of the upward trend in HIV infection in some Central and Eastern European countries bordering Austria, adding that Austria must not take such things lightly.
Data from the Austrian Ministry of Healthy showed by mid November this year the number of AIDS patient in Austria has reached 3,659. Some 2,000 people had died from the disease, while the number of AIDS/HIV carriers stood between some 7,000 and 15,000.
According to a latest global sex study by Durex, the average adult male in Austria has 9 sexual partners and while the adult female has an average of 8, the study said.
