AEGiS-AP: AIDS Peaking In Europe

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AIDS Peaking In Europe

The Associated Press - 24 Nov 1995

GENEVA (AP) -- The head of the U.N. AIDS agency gave an optimistic assessment Friday about efforts to slow the spread of the virus, saying the epidemic may have peaked in northern Europe and new infections have leveled off in hard-hit countries such as Thailand.

"There are good signs that we are over the peak of newly infected individuals" in northern European countries, said Dr. Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS.

About 450,000 people with HIV and AIDS live in western Europe today, and the number has stabilized, Piot said. Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Switzerland have reported reductions in new AIDS cases.

In southern Europe, however, the virus continues to spread, he said.

And in a development Piot called "really encouraging," he said the number of new infections is stabilizing in hard-hit Thailand.

At the same time, he said, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, and other countries have reported a dramatic decrease in sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and syphilis.

"That's an indicator that there has been a change in behavior," said Piot, who heads the new U.N. agency on combating Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, which infects some 6,000 people daily. An estimated 14 million adults have AIDS or the HIV virus.

UNAIDS, which will be formally launched in January, combines the anti-AIDS campaigns of the World Health Organization and five other U.N. agencies.

Piot met with journalists in advance of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

Copyright 1995/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.

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