SANDF HIV/AIDS rate at 8.5%: defence force

The SA National Defence Force has a HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 8.5%, spokesman Colonel Louis Kirstein said on Tuesday.

"There are various organisations and researchers who claim that the defence force has an HIV/AIDS rate of 28%," he said in a statement.

He dismissed this claim, and said a study was done which showed an HIV prevalence rate of 8.5%, compared to the national prevalence rate of about 19%.

"This figure was obtained from the SANDF health status report of September 2011, and was reconfirmed in a HIV prevalence study done during August 2012," said Kirstein.

It was conducted among regular force and military skills development system members.

Another study was being planned for 2013.