New HIV Infections Plunging in Asia: UN

South and Southeast Asia had an estimated 270,000 new HIV infections in 2010, a 40 percent drop from the epidemic’s 1996 peak, UNAIDS reported Monday. “In India, the country with the largest number of people living with HIV in the region, new HIV infections fell by 56 percent.” However, new cases in East Asia rose from 74,000 in 2001 to 88,000 in 2010.

Overall, HIV prevalence in Asia is “substantially lower” than other parts of the world, UNAIDS said. In East Asia, prevalence is at 0.1 percent, or 790,000 cases, and in South and Southeast Asia, prevalence is 0.3 percent, or 4 million cases.

Prevalence is higher among high-risk groups, such as sex workers, drug users, and homosexuals, UNAIDS said. However, “over time, the virus is spreading to other populations.”

In several countries, epidemics are concentrated in relatively few provinces. Five provinces account for 53 percent of HIV infections in China, and in Indonesia, a disproportionate number of cases are in Papua and west Papua provinces.

To view the 2011 UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report, visit: http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2011/JC2216_WorldAIDSday_report_2011_en.pdf.

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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