Russia warns of worsening AIDS epidemic
Pastor Dale Morgan
Russia warns of worsening AIDS epidemic*
By Guy Faulconbridge
Reuters
Tuesday, May 15, 2007; 12:23 PM
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's AIDS epidemic is worsening with as many as
1.3 million people infected with HIV as the virus spreads further into
the heterosexual population, Russia's top AIDS specialist said on Tuesday.
Russia has registered 402,000 people with HIV, of whom 17,000 have died,
but the real figure is much higher, said Vadim Pokrovsky, head of
Russia's federal AIDS centre.
"Not only is the number of Russians infected with HIV rising but there
is an increase in the rate at which the epidemic is spreading, so a rise
in the number of newly infected," Pokrovsky told reporters.
"We have an estimate of up to 1.2 million to 1.3 million infected with
HIV," he said, adding that the number of those registered as infected
was rising by 8 to 10 percent a year.
The United Nations estimates 65 million people worldwide have been
infected with HIV and that 25 million people have been killed by AIDS
since it was first recognized in 1981.
AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is caused by
the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Most of those infected with HIV are unaware they are carrying the virus,
according to the UN.
"ONE IN TEN MALES"
Pokrovsky said HIV was high among Russia's intravenous drug users but
that many of those newly infected were not needle users. And he warned
that the virus was spreading fast into the heterosexual population.
Women made up 44 percent of 39,589 registered new infections last year,
he said adding that in some cities one in ten Russian males were
infected with HIV.
"Evidence of the strengthening heterosexual HIV infection is the
increase in the number of women among those newly registered with HIV,"
Pokrovsky said.
"On average for the country, one out of every fifty males is infected
with HIV but in some cities it is one in ten," he said.
Russia's northern city of St Petersburg was worst affected followed by
Sverdlovsk region, greater Moscow, Samara region and Moscow, though
Pokrovsky said figures for Moscow were probably much higher than the
data indicated.
The United Nations said in a report published on Tuesday that HIV was
higher in richer regions.
"HIV prevalence is in an inverse relationship to economic development:
HIV is more widespread in 'rich' regions," the UN said in a report about
Russia's regions.
Pokrovsky said overall funding for fighting AIDS in Russia was rising
but that just 200 million roubles ($7.75 million) would be spent on
prevention in 2007 out of a total budget of 5.3 billion roubles ($205.4
million).
"The financing is sharply rising," he said. "There is now a lot of
money, but the spending is not done entirely properly."
"A very small amount of that money...is directed to preventing the
further spread of the epidemic; most of it is being used for treatment.
That is good but you need prevention too," he said.