A report from Germany's top disease-tracking institute confirms that the number of Germans testing positive for HIV increased last year for the first time since 1997. The Robert- Koch-Institut in Berlin said preliminary figures for 2002 show that 1,517 people tested positive for HIV, up from 1,478 the previous year. The 2002 figures could likely be revised upward by as many as 200 people, according to the institute's Dr. Osamah Hamouda. The report said that about half of the new cases in 2002 were attributable to male homosexual transmission; about 24 percent were among foreigners from nations with high HIV prevalence; approximately 16 percent were attributable to heterosexual transmission; and 10 percent resulted from drug use. Hamouda said the problem was particularly acute in Berlin, which accounts for almost 20 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in Germany. To date, roughly 60,000 Germans have been infected with HIV, and some 21,000 have died.

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