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As many as 25 countries around the world recorded an over 50% decrease in the number of new HIV infections. More than half of these countries are in Africa, the region most affected by HIV. Unfortunately, in the countries of Eastern Europe the number of infections is increasing. The situation in Poland is stable.
The latest UNAIDS 2012 report (Joint United Nations Program on HIV / AIDS) published in Geneva shows that the number of cases is decreasing in Western and Central Europe. In 2011, there were only 30 thousand. new infections. In Poland, the number of patients has decreased, but there are slightly more new infections. Unfortunately, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia – the number of new infections is increasing dramatically, there were as many as 5 times more than in Western and Central Europe. Our Country and Ukraine are responsible for 90% of these high statistics.
The number of HIV infections
Despite the reduction of new HIV infections, the total number remains high. In 2011, 2,5 million people were infected with HIV. HIV cases remain extremely high among sex workers, homosexuals, and injecting drug users.
The authors of the report suggest that one in five new HIV infections in East and South Africa could be prevented by sterile male circumcision by 2025. Scientists have noticed that this procedure results in marked changes in the bacterial flora of the penis. This, in turn, makes it harder for HIV to invade a man.
AIDS is a chronic disease
There are 34 million AIDS patients in the world, two-thirds of them in Africa. More than 5 million patients live in Asia, one and a half million in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the same number in South America and less than a million in Western and Central Europe.
Thanks to the introduction of antiretroviral drugs, AIDS turned from a fatal disease into a chronic one. Patients can lead a normal life. The UNAIDS report shows that more and more people in the world have access to these therapies, and therefore the number of deaths from AIDS is declining. In the last year alone, the number of people taking these drugs in China has almost halved. However, it is estimated that nearly 7 million people who meet the criteria for inclusion in antiretroviral therapy do not have access to it.
Major cause of death in HIV patients
In 2011, there were over half a million fewer deaths from AIDS than in 2005, a 25% decrease. This is most evident in countries where the HIV epidemic is particularly acute. Compared to the 2005 data, significantly fewer deaths were recorded in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Ethiopia. However, two regions saw significant increases in AIDS-related deaths: Eastern Europe and Central Asia (21%) and the Middle East and North Africa (17%).
Tuberculosis continues to be the leading cause of death in HIV-positive people. Therefore, all people living with tuberculosis and HIV should be immediately included in therapy. Meanwhile, in 2011, only 48% of TB patients with confirmed HIV infection received treatment.
HIV infection in children
The area where the greatest progress is likely to be made is the reduction of new HIV infections among children. Half of the global decline in new HIV cases in the last two years has been in infants. “It is becoming more and more possible to achieve zero levels of new HIV infections among children,” says Dr. Jean-Elie Malkin, director of the UNAIDS Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia. Unfortunately, 72% of children living with HIV who qualify for a treatment program do not have access to it.
An epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Between 2001 and 2011, the number of people living with HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia increased from 970 to 000. Our Country and Ukraine are mainly responsible for this growth. The number of new HIV infections in the region has also increased. There was also a 1% increase in deaths. Access to treatment remains at a low level, it is used by only 400% of patients. Only two countries in the region achieved more than 21% of access to treatment: Georgia and Romania. According to the authors of the report, the HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is developing mainly due to the use of contaminated syringes by drug addicts and through sexual contact.
HIV test
Half of the 34 million HIV-positive people do not know they are infected. This situation also applies to Poland. As Deputy Minister of Health Igor Radziewicz-Winnicki emphasizes, there is no problem with access to treatment in our country. Each sick person will be treated with the most modern drugs that enable a normal life. The problem, however, is identifying the infected. Some estimates say that up to 2/3 of them do not know they are HIV positive. Meanwhile, tests for HIV infection located in every major city are carried out without referral, free of charge and anonymously. – The more people know that they are infected, the easier it is to keep the epidemic in check – says Radziewicz-Winnicki.
Text: Halina Pilonis