Current Status of HIV/AIDS in Indonesia and Prospects for its Spread

The first case of AIDS was identified in Indonesia in 1987 in a foreign male tourist. During the decade thereafter, the epidemic appeared to grow slowly, spreading primarily among men and almost exclusively through sexual transmission. In the mid-1990s, however, injecting drug use, which historically had been very limited in Indonesia, began to increase dramatically. Community workers who were aware of the phenomenon expressed concern about the threat of HIV in the growing population of injecting drug users (IDUs).