Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - Wednesday, November 13, 1996
More than 10,000 people in Ukraine have registered HIV-positive, up from about 2,500 in January, the government's Committee for Combating AIDS announced. Of those registered, 110 have developed AIDS.
Many Ukrainian health officials estimate the number of people infected with the virus that causes AIDS is probably 10 times greater than the number of cases registered. Many people, they say, are too scared to be tested.
Most of the new cases were registered among intravenous drug users, who often contract the virus when using ``poppy straw,'' a popular opium derivative sold by the dose in used syringes.
HIV has spread rapidly in the Black Sea coastal areas of Odessa and the Crimean Peninsula, where illegal drugs are more easily available.
Yuri Subbotin, the World Health Organization representative in Ukraine, said people also are ignorant about how AIDS is transmitted.
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