KARACHI - A NGO, NACP, has released its data regarding HIV and AIDS cases in Pakistan that are predominantly at a higher level than most of other Asian countries. Pakistan is one country which is in transition and where HIV is spreading for the past five years. China, Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam are also among those countries where AIDS is fast spreading. Countries that have been hit hard with current HIV prevalence of 1 per cent are Cambodia, Burma, Thailand and some parts of India. Countries of low level of infections are Bangladesh, East Timor, Laos, Philippines and Iran. First ever case reported in Pakistan was in 1987. The Asian epidemic has gripped as many as 85,000 lives. Rapid increase has occurred because of injection drug users, MSMs and transgender. The report findings are the second quarter results of the year 2008 which talks of high prevalent cases of HIV and AIDS in Islamabad itself, where the gross figures mount to 449 HIV and those living with the epidemic mounting to 74. Sindh has the highest amount of HIV and AIDS patients living in the province, with as many as 2114 and 164, respectively. Punjab follows Sindh in this regard with 1046 cases and 85 people living with AIDS. NWFP is next in line with 659 HIV people and AIDS inflicted number has reached to 67. Balochistan has reported figures of 199 HIV victims and 66 number of people are having the dangerous disease. Azad Jammu and Kashmir reports 28 cases of HIV people and 6 are the AIDS victims. Major vulnerabilities remain the concentrated epidemic among injection drug users, large number of migrants and refugees, inadequate blood screening, unsafe injection practices, well-established sex industry, low level of literacy and education, income inequality and the silence, denial, stigma and discrimination which is profoundly attached with the disease.    It must be noted that prevalence of HIV is consistently below 5 per cent in the high-risk group and below 1 per cent in the general population.