HIV infections jumped 20 percent in the first half of this year in Germany

The number of people in Germany infected with HIV jumped 20 percent in the first half of this year, a leading scientific institute said Wednesday.

A total of 1,164 people became infected with the virus between January and June, 60 percent of them gay men, the Robert Koch Institute said. It didn't provide an exact figure for the first half of 2004.

The institute said an analysis of new cases showed that the risk of infection for homosexual men in Germany had doubled in the past four years and was at the highest level in more than a decade. Men aged between 25 and 45 in major cities were most at risk, reports the AP. I.L.