JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA: Six out of every 10,000 people who went for HIV screening prior to their marriage tested positive last year.
Five out of every 10,000 women who went for pregnancy screening last year also tested positive for the virus.
The Health Ministry said couples were therefore advised to go for HIV screening before they marry.
Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said those who tested positive for HIV would be given counselling. He said they were usually advised to not get married but some had ignored the advice.
"Out of the 90 people who tested positive for HIV last year, 12 still went ahead with their weddings. "And out of the 13 people who tested positive before their second marriage, 11 carried on with their weddings.
"Based on the statistics, I strongly encourage all couples to come forward for free screening and counselling," he said, after launching a Healthy Lifestyle and HIV awareness campaign yesterday.
Liow said the move to get all Muslims to undergo HIV screening before marriage was timely. He said his ministry was still studying whether mandatory premarital HIV screening should also apply to non-Muslims.
"Non-Muslims are encouraged to go for screenings before they get married.
"Screening is the best way to know about the infection status of a person and to control the spread of the disease."
Liow said only one-third of the population, aged 13 and above, had a high level of awareness about sexually-transmitted diseases such as HIV and AIDS.
