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Report estimates 240,000 persons in region have HIV By BRENT DEAN ~ Guardian Senior Reporter ~ brentldean@nasguard.com: The Caribbean as a region has the second highest level of adult HIV prevalence in the world outside of sub-Saharan Africa, according to the 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update. The report, which is an effort by the joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), was released yesterday. In 2008 there were an estimated 240,000 people living with HIV in the region, up from 220,000 in 2001. However, the number of new infections was stable at about 20,000 last year as compared to the 21,000 infections recorded in 2001. The number of children newly-infected in 2008 (2,300) was slightly lower than the figure recorded in 2001 (2,800). The number of AIDS-related deaths also fell in the region by 40 percent over the seven-year period from 20,000 to 12,000. The decrease in the number of deaths has been attributed to the increased use of antiretroviral drugs. In July 2004, the report said that one in 10 Caribbean residents in need of treatment received the drugs. A treatment coverage of 51 percent had been achieved as of December 2008 – a level higher than the global average for low and middle income countries (42 percent). In December 2008, pediatric antiretroviral coverage in the Caribbean (55 percent) was also higher that the global treatment coverage level for children (38 percent). Heterosexual transmission – often tied to prostitution – is the main source of transmission in the region, according to the report. However, it also made note that substantial transmission is occurring in the region among men who have sex with men. "Although epidemiological studies involving men who have sex with men are relatively rare in the Caribbean, the few that exist suggest a high burden of HIV infection in this population," said the report. A 2006 study cited in the report done in Trinidad and Tobago found that 20.4 percent of men who have sex with men were HIV-infected. The report also noted that additional efforts to improve HIV surveillance in the Caribbean are urgently needed in order to obtain a clearer picture of the epidemic and to inform regional palling efforts. During a news conference last month revealing the 2008 national HIV/AIDS statistics, Director of the National AIDS Program Dr. Perry Gomez said local officials have not been able to tap into the category of commercial sex workers whose test results, when calculated, could drive the number of reported cases in The Bahamas even higher. "We haven't been able to do much in the area of commercial sex workers because of the difficulty of accessing who they are and where they are," he said. The number of new HIV and AIDS cases reported last year declined slightly over previous years. There were 6,103 cases of AIDS reported over the past 20 years. And of those cases, just over 4,000 people died from the disease — more than 66 percent of those diagnosed. In 2008, there were 2,078 people living with AIDS. There were 5,387 people living with HIV. Gomez said that between January and December of 2008, 263 new HIV cases were reported, compared to 287 cases in 2007. The highest number of reported HIV cases was in 1994 at 657, according to the data. Gomez also noted there was a slight decline last year in the number of reported cases of full-blown AIDS. There were 185 AIDS cases reported, down 36 cases from 2007, when 221 cases were reported. The highest number of reported AIDS cases was recorded in 1997 at 387.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 |
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