Almost 40 million have HIV

This year, an additional 4.3 million people were infected with HIV, the virus that causes Aids, and about 2.9 million people died of AIDS.

The joint UNAIDS/World Health Organization report said 63 percent (24.7 million) of people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, the Associated Press reported.

However, the virus is spreading most rapidly in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. The rates of new infections in those areas have increased by nearly 70 percent over the past two years.

The number of new HIV infections in South and Southeast Asia increased by 15 percent since 2004 and by 12 percent in North Africa and the Middle East, the AP reported. – (HealthDayNews)

November 2006