Sex Now Chief Cause of Ukraine's AIDS Epidemic

The most common mode of transmission in Ukraine's devastating HIV epidemic has shifted from injection drug use to heterosexual sex.

In 2009, 43 percent of reported HIV cases were believed to have been the result of heterosexual contact. Transmission by injection drug use accounted for another 35 percent, health authorities say.

The two modes of transmission are interconnected. A typical scenario involves a male injection drug user who does not know his HIV status giving the virus to a woman who likely does not know her partner uses IV drugs.

"Two-thirds of cases of sexual transmission are liked to intravenous drug use," said Tetyana Deshko of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance Ukrainian branch.

In 2009, HIV prevalence among Ukraine's adult population was 1.11 percent, among the highest in Europe, according to a national report prepared by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health for UNAIDS. In January of this year, 101,182 adults with HIV/AIDS were under medical observation in specialized facilities. The government estimates 360,000 residents age 15 and older are HIV-infected.

Some regions of the country report an HIV infection rate among pregnant women above 1 percent, said Svitlana Antonyak, a national HIV clinic official.
Controlling the epidemic in Ukraine is complicated by the prevailing public perception that using a condom indicates lack of trust in one's partner, Deshko said. In addition, many Ukrainians believe that HIV affects only "disadvantaged groups," Deshko said.

The increasing use of antiretroviral therapy, introduced into Ukraine only six years ago, cut the morality associated with AIDS last year for the first time. An estimated 7,500 people who need such drugs are going without, officials say.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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