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UN Finds 1996 Peak Year For HIV/AIDS

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 November 2009, 14:59 CST

The number of people infected with the AIDS virus worldwide has remained virtually unchanged over the past two years at about 33 million, the United Nations experts reported Tuesday.

An estimated 33.4 million people are now infected the virus, compared with 33.2 million in 2007, as more people are living longer due to the availability of drugs.

Officials said the global epidemic likely peaked in 1996, and with the exception of Africa the disease appears stable in most regions.

HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 72 percent of all 2.7 million new HIV cases worldwide last year, according to the report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS.

The U.N. reported earlier this year that there are now 4 million people taking lifesaving AIDS drugs worldwide, a 10-fold increase in five years.  These cocktails of drugs can control HIV, but there is no cure.

The report’s confirmation that HIV is on the decline in most nations has some experts calling for a change in the spending priorities of international donors.

HIV/AIDS is responsible for roughly 4 percent of all deaths worldwide, but receives about 23 percent of all public health funds.

"We shouldn't let this single disease continue to distort overall global funding, especially when bigger killers like pneumonia and diarrhea in developing countries are far easier and cheaper to treat," said Philip Stevens of the London-based think tank International Policy Network.

However, "AIDS continues to be a major public health priority,” wrote the authors of the U.N. report, who called for additional funds to support their work.

Those with HIV who begin taking drug cocktails must continue indefinitely, so the costs will continue to rise despite a waning epidemic.  And prices could surge if resistance develops and more expensive treatments are required.

It is not yet clear whether previous U.N. campaigns are responsible for the decline in HIV infections.  An Associated Press report cited some experts as saying the drop in HIV may be the result of the virus simply “burning itself out”, rather than the result of any particular health initiative.

Ties Boerma, a WHO statistics expert, told the AP that nations with a declining HIV prevalence, such as Zimbabwe, were not always those that received the most AIDS funding.

The report also noted stable or rising HIV infections in some areas where treatment is available.

Elizabeth Pisani, an epidemiologist who formerly worked for UNAIDS, said that when HIV patients don't take their medications precisely as prescribed, they can become infectious, giving the virus an opportunity to spread.

But most people with HIV infections who go without treatment die before infecting many others.

"In theory, treatment may have an important preventative effect, but in practice, it can actually make things worse," she told the Associated Press.

"We obviously can't stop treatment, but we need to do a lot more on prevention."

Stevens said the fact that AIDS had peaked more than a decade ago suggests the need to prioritize other health problems, such as respiratory infections, heart disease and malaria – all of which are bigger killers outside of the worst HIV-affected nations such as South Africa.

"Against this backdrop, it is unjust that AIDS should commandeer such a disproportionate level of funding," Stevens told the AP.

The full WHO/UNAIDS report can be viewed at http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2009/2009_epidemic_update_en.pdf.

Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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