U.N.: AIDS deaths, infections at new highs
Tuesday, November 25, 2003 Posted: 10:35 AM EST (1535 GMT)

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Deaths and new cases of HIV/AIDS reached new
highs in 2003 and are set to rise further as the epidemic keeps a
stranglehold on sub-Saharan Africa and advances across Eastern Europe and
Central Asia.

New global estimates released on Tuesday based on improved data show about
40 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, including an estimated
2.5 million children under 15 years old. About five million people were
infected in 2003 and more than three million died.

"The AIDS epidemic continues to expand -- we haven't reached the limit yet,"
said Dr. Peter Piot, head of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS).

"More people have become infected this year than ever before and more people
have died from AIDS than ever before," he told Reuters. "It is the first
cause of death in Africa and the fourth cause of death worldwide."

Burden of epidemic
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst affected region of the world with about
3.2 million new infections and 2.3 million deaths in 2003. Southern Africa
is home to about 30 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, yet
the region has less than two percent of the global population.

In Botswana and Swaziland the infection rate of HIV/AIDS among adults is 40
percent. One in five pregnant women in some African countries is infected
with the virus, which is more easily transmitted from men to women than the
other way around.

Piot said the epidemic, fueled by intravenous drug use and unsafe sex, is
spreading in densely populated India and China as well as Indonesia, Papua
New Guinea, Vietnam and in Eastern Europe where the worst affected areas
include the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Estonia and Latvia.

And he predicted that it could be years before the back of the epidemic is
broken in terms of new infections.

"The burden of the HIV epidemic will become bigger and bigger over time
because it takes, on average, seven to 10 years after infection before you
fall ill and, if there is no treatment, before you die," he said.

"In other words, even if by some miracle all transmission of HIV stopped,
people would still become ill. We are only at the beginning of the impact of
AIDS, certainly in Africa."

Reasons for hope
But Piot added that the "AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2003" report also
provides hope. In several East African cities fewer people were infected
this year than five years ago -- so prevention can work. There is also more
money than ever being spent on AIDS.

"Thirdly, there is also a momentum on treatment, even if today only 75,000
Africans -- less than one out of 50 who need it -- are treated with
effective therapy. There is now movement to roll out this treatment on a
very large scale," he added.

In a major boost to combat the epidemic, South Africa has announced a plan
to provide free antiretroviral drugs to hundreds of thousands of infected
people.

"This is of historic significance, not only for South Africa but also for
the rest of Africa because others I'm sure will follow," said Piot.

"We are entering a new phase in the fight against AIDS and a time of great
opportunities," he said.

"We need to be as passionate about making sure our children do not become
infected with HIV as about treating people who are already infected today."