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Dr Jose Ramon Baez Acosta, a psychiatrist and former mayor of Santo Domingo made the claims in the newspaper El Caribe, claiming that he has cured 52 people of AIDS by injecting them with an unknown serum.

Police raided the lab of Dr Acosta after receiving complaints and seized samples of a formula apparently used for testing, medical equipment and two pigs and a donkey.

BBC Caribbean reporter in Santo Domingo Jean Michel Caroit, says such raids are common but this case is unique, because Jose Ramon Baez Acosta is a well known doctor in the Dominican Republic.

PAHO Concerned

The Pan American Health Organization is urging health officials to track down AIDS patients who may have been hurt by Dr Acosta's serum.

The Organization's spokesperson Ana Cristina Nogueira told BBC Caribbean the soar of HIV infections across the Caribbean region has led to more bogus claims of a cure for AIDS.

"There are people who are claiming that they have a treatment for HIV/AIDS. They are using the lack of education of some populations and the vulnerability of people who have AIDS," she said.

Patients warned

Dr Ernest Hazelwood a medical doctor in Trinidad practices in alternative medicine.

He warned patients against visiting anyone who claims to have found a cure for HIV and AIDS.

Speaking to BBC Caribbean Dr Hazelwood said he believed it was a hoax.

"It sounds like a money making gimmick, otherwise he (Dr Acosta) would have the formula patented and he should be awarded a Nobel Peace prize if he can get a cure for AIDS. But I believe it is a hoax."

Dr Jose Ramon Baez Acosta has not been arrested or charged but prosecutors in the Dominican Republic are investigating his claims to have cured AIDS in over 50 people.

In the meantime, health officials have ordered an immediate stop to the treatments.

At least 70,000 people in a population of 9.2million have HIV in the Dominican Republic.

The Caribbean has the second-highest infection rate of the disease after sub-Saharan Africa.