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

Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - 1 Dec 1995
Jeffrey Heller

Jonathan Mann, director of the Global AIDS Policy Coalition, an independent international research group based at the Harvard School of Public Health, said one out of five carriers of the HIV virus lives in southeast Asia.

On the eve of World AIDS Day, he told a news conference at the Ninth International Conference on AIDS Education that the region accounted for 52 percent of all new HIV infections in the world this year.

"We estimate that during 1995 about 4.7 million people became newly infected with HIV around the world. That translates to around 13,000 people a day," Mann said.

He said AIDS, which destroys the body's immune system, remains a "very dynamic and volatile" epidemic which has not slowed in "any meaningful way" despite international efforts to combat it.

"Probably the most important change in the epidemic in the last few years has been (its) rise in southeast Asia. A few years ago, very few cases of infection and AIDS were occurring (there)."

Mann said Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines, which had not yet experienced a major AIDS epidemic, were "very vulnerable."

Since the start of the AIDS epidemic in the 1970s, some 30 million people, including three million children, have contracted HIV, Mann said.

"If it continues to go as it is, it may well be in the 70 to 80 million range by the year 2000," he said.

Last week Peter Piot, executive director of U.N. AIDS, a group that will succeed the Global Program on AIDS now under the World Health Organization (WHO), said five million had died of AIDS. He said the number of people who have the virus could reach 40 million within five years.

Asked about the estimate, Mann said, "Having directed the World Health Organization's AIDS program for four years, I think I am in a good position to recognize that the WHO figures are somewhat limited because they have to reflect what governments want or are willing to let the WHO set."

Although 92 percent of all the world's HIV infections and cases of AIDS have occurred in the developing world, only a fraction of the money raised for prevention and care has been spent there, Mann said.

"I think it's always important ... to remember this fundamental imbalance in the relationship between where the epidemic is and where the resources are," he said.

"Sub-Saharan Africa is unfortunately, of course, still first with 62 percent of all the world's infections," he said.

"It is an unfortunate fact that when we say that more infections occurred in southeast Asia in 1995 than in sub-Saharan Africa, there could be a tendency to say, well, the problem is either over in sub-Saharan Africa or not so big.

"Neither of those statements would be true. It is a major epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa," he said.

951201
RE951201

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1995. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 1995. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .