Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - Friday November 24, 2000
Naomi Koppel, Associated Press Writer
The biggest impact of the disease was in Africa again, according to figures released by the U.N. health agency. Globally it estimates that 3 million people will die from AIDS in 2000, 80 percent of them in Africa. Last year, 2.6 million people died of AIDS.
"Although only about one-tenth of the world population lives there, sub-Saharan Africa remains the hardest-hit region, accounting for 72 percent of the people infected with HIV during 2000," said a report in WHO's Epidemiological Record. The number of new infections in the world has decreased slightly from the 5.6 million new cases recorded in 1999, but the number who died or developed full-blown AIDS has increased, WHO said.
It said the new infections this year include 600,000 children under the age of 15. The estimates by WHO and UNAIDS were in a weekly WHO report released ahead of a major study on the disease next week.
"Many African countries are experiencing the full impact of the epidemic, including its economic and demographic consequences," the report said. It added that the number of cases in sub-Saharan Africa appeared to have stabilized for the first time, with 3.8 million estimated new infections, compared with 4 million last year.
WHO estimates there are 5.8 million people living with HIV or AIDS in south and southeast Asia, and 1.4 million in Latin America. But the largest percentage increase is in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where 250,000 new infections are estimated this year, taking the total for the region to 700,000.
Estimated new infections in North America total 45,000 and in Western Europe 30,000.
"By the end of 2000, it is estimated that a total of 21.8 million adults and children will have died because of HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic," WHO said.
"Mortality due to HIV continued to increase, with an estimated 3 million deaths during 2000. Deaths in women also continue to increase, accounting for an estimated 52 percent of adult deaths due to HIV in 2000."
WHO has received official notification of 2.3 million AIDS cases up to Nov. 15, but many of those figures date from last year.
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