Russia’s HIV Infections Tripled in 2000
The number of registered HIV cases in Russia tripled in 2000, Russian Sanitary and Epidemiological Monitoring Authority HIV/AIDS Department Head Aleksander Goliusov told the Russian Information Agency on Feb. 8. A total of 55,157 new HIV cases were reported last year in the 86 constituent parts of the Russian Federation that maintain registries, bringing the number of total cases registered in the country to 86,259. Goliusov said that about 5,500 new HIV cases were being registered each month. Thus far, 434 people, including 133 children, have been reported as diagnosed with AIDS in Russia, and 791 people, including 118 children, have reportedly died from AIDS in the country since 1987. The Moscow region and Moscow "retained their leading position" in 2000 with the most HIV cases reported -- 13,821 and 10,814, respectively. The Irkutsk region represented the highest incidence of HIV in the country, with 301 cases per 100,000 people. The Russian Federation has reserved $40 million for HIV/AIDS in its budget, and Goliusov said people with HIV/ AIDS would be supplied with "three medicines in accordance with the international rules" (BBC News, 2/9). A recent UNAIDS/WHO report stated that in the Russian Federation, more people became infected with HIV in 2000 than all previous years combined, and most of these infections occurred among injection drug users (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 11/29/2000).
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