Health officials in Apac District in northern Uganda reported that 17 patients who were receiving anti-retroviral drugs, or ARVs, died in the past month after they could no longer get the drugs, said Dr Zainab Akol, manager of the ministry's HIV/AIDs Control Programme.

The ministry has ordered invest-igations to determine "whether, apart from the lack of ARVs, another disease like malaria or any epidemic could have contributed to the deaths," Akol told The Associated Press.

She attributed the shortage of antiretroviral drugs to a sharp increase this year in the number of AIDS patients, with donors unable to match the increase.

In January, Uganda ran a huge countrywide campaign to encourage people to get tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and 100,000 new patients were registered, Akol said.

"The number of HIV/AIDS patients increased yet money provided by donors to buy the drugs did not increase," she said.

- AP