Latvia’s ‘Rapid’ Increases in HIV Infection Rates ‘Worrisome’ to Health Officials
The total number of Latvians infected with HIV grew by 84% last year, while the number of new HIV infections in the country increased by 73%, the New York Times reports. Eighty percent of new HIV infections in Latvia were caused by needle sharing among intravenous drug users, according to Inga Upmerce, deputy director of the National AIDS Prevention Center. Latvia recorded 807 new HIV infections last year, representing only a "tiny" proportion of the country's 2.4 million residents. But Upmerce said that last year's large increase in new infections is "worrisome" and "demands new prevention tactics." Latvia is "experiencing one of the world's most rapid increases in [HIV] infection," the New York Times reports. There are currently 1,765 total recorded HIV infections in the country (Wines, New York Times, 1/11).
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