The 128 new HIV/AIDS cases recorded between the beginning of 2008 and the end of October in the Czech Republic have broken a record for the highest number of new cases registered in the country, Jana Vandasova of the National Reference Laboratory for AIDS said on Thursday, the CTK/Prague Daily Monitor reports. According to Vandasova, there were 122 new cases registered last year, and the National Reference Laboratory for AIDS said this year represents the largest growth in HIV/AIDS cases since the mid-1980s, when the country began testing for the virus.

Vandasova said that in September alone, 16 new HIV/AIDS cases were reported, while five were registered in October. A total of 1,170 HIV-positive Czechs and foreigners with long-term residence have been registered since the mid-1980s, 988 of whom were still registered as of the end of October, Vandasova said. A total of 142 people had died from AIDS-related illnesses by the end of October, the CTK/Prague Daily Monitor reports. In addition, the data, which has not yet been confirmed, indicated that 261 HIV-positive people had developed AIDS by the end of September.

Miroslav Hlavaty of the Czech Society for AIDS Help said some people who contracted HIV many years ago were registered among new HIV cases last year, which means that a large number of HIV-positive people could be contributing to the spread of the virus without being aware of their status. In addition, Hlavaty said the number of HIV-positive people in the country could be 10 times higher because of low testing levels (CTK/Prague Daily Monitor, 11/13).