High HIV risk in over 50s

There is a high prevalence of HIV in adults that have passed their 50th birthday, a new report has claimed.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) study, released in the Bulletin of the WHO, has been described as surprising.

However, WHO suggested that in most demographic health surveys on the issue, older people are left out. Just 13 of the last 30 surveys in the last five years included older males, with older females not featuring in any.

The report claimed that older individuals are still sexually active all older the world and that they may be less likely to practice safe sex than their younger counterparts.

Brazil has been singled out as one location where older people are at high risk of HIV, which has been noted by the Gaffree Guinle Hospital in Rio de Janeiro.

Dr Fernando Ferry, an HIV specialist at the hospital, said: "We are like a barometer of what is happening in the Brazilian society.

"We have 3200 patients enrolled in the AIDS outpatient service at the hospital, around one-third of whom are older than 50."

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