Singapore mulls HIV self-test kits as infections rise

Singapore said on Wednesday it is studying the use of over-the-counter HIV test kits for early detection following a jump in the number of new cases last year.

"These test kits are easy to use because they test the saliva. This will allow those at risk to test themselves," Senior Minister of State for Health Balaji Sadasivan told parliament.

The number of new HIV/AIDS cases in Singapore rose 28 percent to 311 last year, up from 242 in 2003, he said.

The minister said 90 percent of newly diagnosed patients were male and a third of them were gay men.

Although the wealthy southeast Asian island has one of the continent's lowest levels of HIV infection, it is tightening defences due to the jump in cases, notably among gays and heterosexual men who have casual sex.

The government is also studying proposals to make testing of pregnant mothers compulsory.

Sadasivan said 77 percent of pregnant women were now screened for HIV/AIDS and this had saved at least one child from being infected in the last two months.

The minister said it was not clear why the rate of HIV infection had risen sharply among gay men.

An epidemiologist suggested it might be linked to the annual Nation Party, a predominantly gay party, he said.

Singapore has more than 2,000 HIV/AIDS patients but for every patient diagnosed, there were possibly as many as two to four cases that are undetected, he said.

Singapore could have anywhere between 4,000 and 8,000 undiagnosed HIV patients, the minister said.

AIDS activists in Singapore have urged the government to decriminalise homosexuality to help promote AIDS awareness in the community. Under Penal Code section 377A, acts of "gross indecency" between two men are punishable by up to two years in jail.