Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS
AIDS cases in most countries in Western Europe have fallen to levels not seen since the initial outbreak; many people attribute this trend to active education campaigns, blood transfusion screening and increased condom use. In addition, since new AIDS treatments have proven to be effective (even if expensive) methods to suppress HIV, Western Europe’s AIDS mortality rate has also fallen very much in the past few years. There are many ways to transmit HIV, including paid sex, sex between men, injecting drugs, mother-to-child behavior, and heterosexual behavior. However, many new infections in this area have occurred through contact with HIV-infected people in other areas. The prevalence of adults (15-49 years old) in the region is 0.3%, and there are currently 570,000 to 890,000 HIV-infected persons. Due to the availability of antiretroviral therapy, the number of deaths from AIDS has remained low since the trough in the late 1990s. However, in some countries, there is still a large number of undiagnosed HIV, and the evidence of resistance to antiretroviral drugs in some newly infected people in the region is worrying. In addition, the risky behaviors of men who come into contact with men have recently increased.