The Independant, UK: Aids: the pandemic is officially in decline [View All]

[rasputin1952]

The HIV pandemic which started 28 years ago is officially in decline, two of the world's leading health organisations said yesterday.


The number of new HIV infections peaked in the mid-1990s and has since declined by almost a third, according to the annual update on the pandemic for 2009, published yesterday by the Joint United Nations programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) and the World Health Organisation.

It is the first time that UNAids and the WHO have confirmed that the pandemic is on a downward trend and represents a landmark in the history of the disease. In their 2008 report, they said suggestions the epidemic had peaked were "speculation" and that it was "difficult to predict the epidemic's future course".

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Despite the fall in new infections, the number living with HIV increased last year to 33.4 million as people are surviving longer with the roll-out of antiretroviral drug treatment. Greater access to drugs has helped cut the death toll by 10 per cent over the past five years.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/aids-the-pandemic-is-officially-in-decline-1826914.html


Health professionals seem to be finally getting a handle on this devastating disease.