Asian Hiv Infections

[cojones]

Asia HIV Infections Top 8 Million

AFX News

11/23/04 11:08 AM PT

The UN report revealed alarming increases in the rates of infection

among IV drug users but said the sex industry is still the primary

driver of transmissions. Many prostitutes work without condoms because

some clients are willing to pay much higher prices for unprotected sex.

Asia's battle against AIDS is at a critical stage after a sharp rise in

infections driven by the booming sex industry has left more than 8

million people living with HIV, the United Nations said in a report.

The number of Asians infected with the virus jumped by 1 million over

the past two years, bringing the total number of infected people in the

region to 8.2 million, according to an annual AIDS epidemic report by

UNAIDS and the World Health Organization.

Some 5.1 million of those infected people live in India, the highest

number in the world except for South Africa, with the virus spreading

fastest in Asia and Eastern Europe.

Sex Industry Is Culprit

Asia, which has a population of 3.9 billion, has long been identified

by the UN as a sitting duck for a major epidemic, which threatens to be

as bad as in sub-Saharan Africa, home to two-thirds of the people with HIV.

The report revealed alarming increases in the rates of infection among

intravenous drug users but said the sex industry is still the main

driver of transmissions.

"Most new infections in Asia occur when men buy sex, and large numbers

of men do so," the report said. It said up to 10 percent of Asian men

pay for sex.

Many sex workers are still prepared to work without condoms because some

clients are willing to pay much higher prices for unprotected sex, it

said. Fewer than one in five sex workers in Jakarta massage parlors

reported using condoms.

The report said HIV rates are also rising sharply in several Asian

countries due to dramatic infection hikes among illegal drug injectors,

particularly in Indonesia, Nepal, Vietnam and parts of China.

"One in two injecting drug users in Jakarta now test positive for HIV,

while in cities such as Pontianak (Indonesia) more than 70 percent of

drug injectors are being found to be HIV-positive," the report said.

Drug Use

It added that drug-injectors in these countries are "kick-starting"

wider epidemics by then having sex with non-injecting people, and

recommended more nations adopt opiate substitution and needle-exchange

programs to cut down on the use of dirty needles.

The report also said HIV epidemics are already deeply entrenched in

countries such as India, Myanmar and China where current anti-AIDS

campaigns are making limited headway.

It cited a 2003 survey which revealed one in five Chinese could not name

a single way to protect themselves against the virus.

"In parts of India, Myanmar and China, inadequate prevention efforts

have allowed HIV to filter from people with the highest-risk behaviors

to their regular sex partners," the report said.

Ray of Hope

Despite the grim news the report said many Asian nations could still

avert potential epidemics and urged them not to waste a golden opportunity.

It said Bangladesh, East Timor, Laos, Pakistan and the Philippines all

had very low HIV prevalence rates and could stave off potential

epidemics if they adopted the sort of prevention programs adopted by

countries such as Thailand.

Thailand was widely praised in the 1990s for its unflinching response to

the AIDS epidemic, including promoting the use of condoms, which helped

reduce new annual infections from a high of 143,000 in 1991 to 19,000

last year.

The kingdom has also been a regional leader in the production of

distribution of cheap, generic anti-AIDS drugs, which have allowed

thousands of people in the region living with HIV to continue living

relatively normal lives.

The UN agencies estimated that 3.1 million people will have died

worldwide from AIDS in 2004 -- more than 540,000 of them in Asia -- the

most in any one year and 200,000 more than in 2003.

They said nearly 40 million now have HIV, the highest toll in the

23-year history of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

© 2004 AFX News Limited. All rights reserved.

© 2004 ECT News Network. All rights reserved.