Study: 6.5m South Africans May Have HIV

More than 6.5 million of South Africa’s 47 million people could be infected with HIV, according to a government report released Monday, a sharp increase from previous estimates.

A 2004 Health Department survey of more than 16,000 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics indicated between 6.29 million and 6.57 million South Africans were infected with the virus that causes AIDS, compared to 5.6 million in 2003.

The state statistical service, Statistics SA, put the figure this year at 4.5 million.

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