World AIDS Day 2006
Friday was World AIDS day. Where are we 25 years after the AIDS pandemic began?
Approximately 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV infection, with more than 4 million people becoming infected each year – 17.6 million women, 21.8 million men and 640,000 children. Since the AIDS pandemic began 25 years ago, more than 25 million people have died.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 1.1 million persons in the U.S. were living with HIV infection at the end of 2003. The CDC also estimated that 25% of those infected with HIV do not know they are infected, which means they could be unknowingly spreading infection.
Health Canada estimated that 58,000 persons in Canada were living with HIV infection at the end of 2005, an increase of 16% from 2002.
Sobering numbers for an infection that increases in number each year, and for which there currently is no cure.
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