Saturday, January 16, 2010

HIV Incidence and Prevelance Trends


Source: IAVI Report

According to this data, 2.7 million people were infected with HIV in 2008, the most recent year for which data is available. There were some 2 million AIDS deaths that year. The prevalence of HIV infection is therefore still increasing. As the second graph shows, it is increasing at about the rate that the population is increasing.

There still is no cure for HIV infection, just treatment to extend life and ameliorate symptoms. The fact that people with AIDS are dying at a rate which keeps the prevalence from growing as a percent of the total population is not a reason for optimism.

The success of biomedical research and the improved distribution of antiretroviral drugs has been quite impressive, but we are a long way from being out of the woods!

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