A 35-year-old HIV Positive man identified as Claudio Pinti has been arrested after he consciously passed on the deadly virus to more than 200 sexual partners in Italy.
A spokesman for police in Ancona, a city on Italy’s eastern Adriatic coast, said despite having been diagnosed “for at least 11 years,’’ he did not take precautions nor warn his partners about his condition.
In a press conference on Wednesday, police said Pinti was a regular user of dating websites and might have infected more than 200 people.
He was caught after one of his most recent partners checked herself into hospital after feeling ill and discovered she had contracted the virus.
Authorities urged potential victims to contact police, and in a breach of usual practice, released a picture of the suspect so people could recognise him.
The police spokesman said several calls have come in and are being verified.
“People are very reluctant to come forward because of the shame,’’ he said.
According to the World Health Organisation, life expectancy for HIV and AIDS patients has greatly increased in recent years, but the disease still killed one million people in 2016,
Source: dpa/ NAN
