Ecuador Suffers "Alarming" Levels of AIDS: Health Ministry

QUITO, Ecuador now has an "alarming" level of AIDS infections, with 18 of the country's 22 provinces reporting infections of the disease, the country's Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The country reported nearly 76,000 cases of the deadly disease nationwide in 2004, although AIDS organizations say the true figure is much much higher.

The country's Health Ministry Spokesman Washington Aleman said the region of Guayas has the largest number of HIV infections and its capital Guayquil has the largest number of AIDS cases.

Aleman also said Ecuador had passed a law to help expectant mothers who have AIDS, saying attention should be paid to prevent their children from contracting the disease.

The disease was first detected in Ecuador in 1984, with eight people tested HIV-positive and six of them developing into full- blown AIDS.