UN: AIDS is stable for now

The AIDS epidemic is stable and the number of people infected with the virus that causes remained unchanged since 2007, the UN said in a report Monday.

Critics say that the goal of eradicating diseases of the body that is too optimistic, but because there are vaccines, millions of untreated and donations have fallen in the midst of economic crisis.

There were 2.7 million new HIV infections last year, roughly the same in the last three years, the report said that UNAIDS, the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS. The data largely confirm the results previously released by the group in June.

Late last year there are approximately 34 million people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. While a slight increase over the previous year, experts say it's because people are living longer. Last year there were 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths, a decrease of 1.9 million in 2009.

The epidemic continues to hit hard in South Africa. But while the number of new infections has declined by more than 26 percent from its peak in 1997, the virus is always elsewhere.

In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, there is a 250 percent surge in the number of people infected with HIV for ten years, primarily due to spread among injecting drug users. In North America and Western Europe, the epidemic "remains stubbornly stable", the report said.

"And," promising, but the number is still at a level that goes beyond, "said Sophie Harman, a global health expert at City University in London. He is not connected to a UNAIDS report.

In the strategy for the coming year, UNAIDS said he is working on zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero deaths from AIDS. Harman said it is an admirable goal, but not sure if it's feasible. "They should get real," he said. "Maybe they set the row height, but their main purpose is to eliminate, it is highly unlikely that it will never happen."

Dr Paul De Lay, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, acknowledged the idea of ​​eliminating HIV infection and death was "more than a vision for the future," and can not be achieved without new tools, such as vaccines, this may be a few decades time. Earlier this month, U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called AIDS-free generation and promised more money for programs in Africa.

Lay said that the UN strategy will focus on more aggressive policy of prevention and treatment, how to treat people with HIV before. In Africa, people with HIV are usually treated until their immune system reaches a certain threshold, and officials are now increasingly looking to start treatment before the patient is too sick.

Strategies for the future could include giving drugs to people at high risk before they become infected. World Health Organization is how to advise countries with major epidemics to give drugs to healthy people vulnerable to viruses, such as prostitutes, homosexuals and drug addicts, as one method of prevention.

Although some studies have shown that they can significantly slow the spread of AIDS, experts have voiced concern for healthy people with AIDS drugs, which have toxic side effects. It may also encourage drug resistance, and there are already millions of people in developing countries who benefit from treatment, but still waiting.

Sharonann Lynch, HIV policy adviser for Doctors Without Borders, said that many African countries are eager to develop a strategy that some are more aggressive and formulate their guidelines before the official advice is available to implement the United Nations. But he said the financial crisis, treatment and enrollment in some clinics, such as the influence of Congo, stalled or suspended. Leaving the epidemic increases.

"Just like we know how to manage HIV, we hit the brakes," said Lynch. "Without more investment, we squandered the best chance we have to reflect the new wave of infections get."