Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - December 1, 2008
U.N. anti-drug czar Antonio Maria Costa, in marking World AIDS Day at a special ceremony in Vienna, also warned against complacency in battling the HIV virus.
Costa urged a group of high school students attending the ceremony to "stay alert."
"Let us stop the ignorance about AIDS ... have fun but don't take risks that can make you sick or even kill you," he said.
According to a U.N. report in August, an estimated 33 million people were living with HIV in 2007. In virtually all regions outside sub-Saharan Africa, HIV disproportionately affects people who inject drugs, homosexual men and sex workers, the report said.
Costa, who heads the Vienna-based U.N.'s Office on Drugs and Crime, said AIDS was increasingly being spread by sharing infected needles.
"We estimated that there are about 16 million people around the world that inject drugs ù and one out of five is likely to contract AIDS," Costa said.
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On the Net:
http://data.unaids.org/pub/GlobalReport/2008/20080715_fs_global_en.pdf
http://www.unodc.org
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