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LONDON, Feb 10, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Two British physicians are warning preventive measures are failing to stem the rising rate of the human immunodeficiency virus.
Drs. Angela J. Robinson of the Department of Genitourinary Medicine, London, and Brian G. Gazzard, of Kobler Center, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, in an article in this week's edition of the British Medical Journal, note an estimated 38 million people worldwide, including over 2 million children, are now infected with HIV, and a record 4.8 million became infected in 2003.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the worst affected region: a third of the world's HIV infected population is living there, the two wrote.
The underlying reason for the continuing increase is socio-economic, but the increase also represents a failure of prevention.
For a large epidemic to occur in a particular country, both poverty and poor social cohesion are required. The worst epidemics are therefore occurring in countries where wars, intercommunity tensions, and corruption have contributed to a disintegration of the fabric of society. HIV infection is rooted in poverty, ignorance and a lack of autonomy of women.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
