NCJ Number
119076
Date Published
1989
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Reports to the World Health Organization (WHO) suggest that at least 5 million people worldwide are infected by the AIDS virus and that a million new cases of AIDS are likely within the next 5 years.
Abstract
Studies consistently show that HIV is transmitted by sexual intercourse, by the injection of infected blood or illegal drugs, or from an infected mother to her unborn infant. There is no evidence for casual transmission between people in schools, the workplace, and other social settings. Since HIV infection precedes the development of AIDS by at least several years, one cannot rely only on reported AIDS cases to get a good picture of the disease's distribution. It is also necessary to collect data on the number of people infected with HIV. From analyses of both AIDS reports and seroprevalence data, three broad geographic patterns of AIDS are identified: (1) industrialized countries including the United States, Mexico, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Latin America; (2) some areas of central, eastern, and southern Africa and certain Latin American countries, particularly the Caribbean; and (3) some areas of Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and most of the Pacific, excluding Australia and New Zealand. The continent hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic is Africa, where varying infection patterns can be found. HIV infection patterns in different geographic areas of the world are described, and AIDS cases reported to WHO from 1980 to 1988 are evaluated. Problems in predicting the future of the AIDS epidemic are noted, with emphasis on prevention, education, and public health needs. 6 figures.