Record New HIV Cases in ’05: UN

“Almost 5 million people were infected by HIV globally in 2005, the highest jump since the first reported case in 1981 and taking the number living with the virus to a record 40.3 million, the United Nations said on Monday.

The 4.9 million new infections were fueled by the epidemic’s continuing rampage in sub-Saharan Africa and a spike in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the UNAIDS body said in its annual report.

“Despite progress made in a small but growing number of countries, the AIDS epidemic continues to outstrip global efforts to contain it,” the report said.” [Full article]