Nurse epidemiologist Lise Outerbridge said Bermuda is in line with America, Canada and the United Kingdom in HIV and AIDS cases.

Although she said those countries have seen a rise in numbers and Bermuda hasn?t.

The focus of this year?s World AIDS Day looks at women and girls, but in Bermuda the numbers show that of ten new reported cases of HIV last year, only one was a woman.

Two people contracted the virus through intravenous drug use while the other eight contracted it through sexual activity, Ms Outerbridge said.

Ms Outerbridge said Health Department has a very active Epidemiology and Surveillance system.

The surveillance officer calls weekly and the physicians report new cases of all infectious diseases.

Then the nurse epidemiologist reviews the information and investigates the cases.

?We deal with all communicable diseases and we do keep general statistics on non-communicable diseases and the mortality or the causes of death,? Ms Outerbridge said.

?If the person was newly diagnosed, I would speak to the physician before I speak to the patient and I would then make sure they know that it is a notifiable disease,? she said. ?Which means the physician has to notify the Health Department of the HIV positive diagnosis.

?Then I get in touch with the person so that we can meet. It is better in person but sometimes it is over the telephone. Some people prefer not to meet face-to-face, or for me to come to their home

?Most times they (the client) will come into the hospital or, if they are in the hospital, I will see them there. It varies as to the situation.?

Ms Outerbridge then interviews the person and offers them helpful information.

?I let them know that we have three Public Health nurses that are trained and work in the communicable disease area,? she said.

?We have a nurse who visits the people with HIV for care and support, and there is also a comprehensive treatment programme.

?So, I explain all that up front, and then I have a few questions for them.

?Number one would be if they have any contacts that would need testing.

?I would also want to find out what their mode of exposure would have been ? whether or not they have used intravenous drugs.?

She said before she begins she always explains that she is not there to judge them and that everyone is asked the same questions.

?I have to ask whether they have had sex with men, women or both,? she said.

?I have to determine the risk factors and then, they really don?t see me again.

?I gather the information and I also have to explain about the Sexual Offences Act.

?A person can be prosecuted if they have sexual contact and they haven?t disclosed that they are HIV positive to their partner.?

Ms Outerbridge said, in cases like that, the partner has to initiate the proceedings and contact the Police themselves.

?I find they are usually quite distressed,? she said.

Since 1982, Bermuda has seen 491 AIDS cases.

Ms Outerbridge said Bermuda has tended to follow trends in the United States, Canada and Great Britain in terms of new cases but recently numbers have risen in those countries but have remained relatively static in Bermuda.

?Their numbers did decline in as far as HIV cases and then they started to rise,? she said.

?The current number of cases have not started to increase. However, we have to keep focused on our prevention programme and encourage testing.?

This year, Ms Outerbridge said Bermuda has seen ten new cases of HIV as of November 15, 2004.

Although, she added: ?They will not necessarily develop AIDS, because we have such an extensive treatment programme.

?So, HIV is now considered a chronic disease and a person doesn?t necessarily have to develop AIDS, as they did, say ten years ago.

?So, we can have HIV positive people who don?t necessarily have to develop AIDS.

?This is a disease that is 100 percent preventable, it is not something you have to have.

?But it is not just that, people have to take a look at all the risk factors because if they take a risk in one area of their lives, they often take a risk in another.?

She added the total number of deaths has started to decline this year.

There were two deaths this year and the total reported deaths to date are 390.

The total number of HIV cases is 543.

She added: ?Through our partnership efforts with the community we hope to decrease the stigma of people living with HIV/AIDS.?