3 Oct 2003

Solomon Islands uncovers second ever HIV case

11:09 am on 3 October 2003

The Solomon Islands has reported its second-ever case of HIV, which has been described as a "shake-up" for the country.

The infected woman, part Solomon Islander, part Papua New Guinean, had been living in PNG but left there after her first husband died of HIV/AIDs two years ago.

The woman married for a second time and since passed the HIV virus to her husband, although the couple's three-year-old baby is reportedly not infected.

A leading HIV/AIDs campaigner in Honiara said the new case is a warning for the country.

Adolescent Reproductive Health Coordinator Ken Konare says this new relevation shows that the killer disease is penetrating their shores.

Solomon Islands has only ever had one officially recorded case of HIV/AIDs, in 1994.

This is one of the lowest HIV infection rates in the region.