Number of HIV-Positive People in Russia Increased 10-Fold Over Past Three Years

The number of HIV-positive people in Russia has increased 10-fold over the past three years, Vadim Pokrovsky, head of the country's federal center to fight HIV/AIDS, said on Monday, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. Twenty out of every 100,000 Russians were HIV-positive in 2000, but that rate increased nearly 10 times to 180 per 100,000 by November 2003, Pokrovsky said. Pokrovsky in May said that there are approximately 1.5 million HIV-positive people in Russia but that only 238,000 are officially registered. Men between the ages of 15 and 30 are the most affected segment of the population, Pokrovsky said. About 90% of all HIV infections in the country result from injection drug use, according to experts (AFP/Yahoo! News, 11/24). Although the AIDS epidemic initially affected mainly injection drug users, the disease spread into the general population two years ago. In 2002, approximately one in eight new HIV infections was sexually transmitted, up from one in 25 two years ago. The Russian government currently spends $38 million annually on HIV/AIDS (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/31).