Global HIV toll hits 40.3 million

摘要：The number of people living with HIV worldwide has topped 40 million for the first time, with more than 7,000 new infections in the UK adding to the toll, a new report shows. 联合国日前公布的一份报告显示，目前世界范围内艾滋病病毒感染者人数已首次超过4000万。

The number of people living with HIV worldwide has topped 40 million for the first time, with more than 7,000 new infections in the UK adding to the toll, a new report shows.

The Aids Epidemic Update 2005 revealed that an estimated 40.3 million people now have HIV - up from 37.5 million in 2003 and the highest-ever level.

While the vast majority of cases are still found in the developing world, figures in the report showed that there were an estimated 7,258 new diagnoses of the infection in the UK last year - more than double the figure for 2000.

The report, by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), estimated that globally there will be an extra five million new infections in 2005. It also estimated that 2005 would see more than three million deaths from Aids-related illnesses - more than 500,000 of these children.

The annual report said there was evidence that adult HIV infection rates had decreased in some countries, with measures such as increased use of condoms and urging people to have fewer sexual partners playing a part in this.

But the overall trend in HIV transmission is still increasing, with experts warning that far greater HIV prevention efforts are needed to slow the epidemic.

Figures in the report estimated that there were 7,258 new diagnoses of HIV in the UK in 2004 - up from 7,076 in 2003 and more than double the 3,499 reported in 2000. The report said that one of the reasons for this doubling was increased testing for the infection.

But it said that most of the increase was due to a steep rise in the number of heterosexually acquired HIV infections, around 80% of which were contracted in high-prevalence countries such as in Africa.

Sex between men still accounts for around a quarter of new HIV diagnoses in the UK.

Previous figures have suggested that there are an estimated 60,000 people living with HIV in the UK, with around 27% of these thought to be undiagnosed.

联合国日前公布的一份报告显示，目前世界范围内艾滋病病毒感染者人数已首次超过4000万。

据英国《每日邮报》11月21日报道，根据这份2005年度《全球艾滋病流行报告》估计，目前艾滋病病毒感染者的总人数已达4030万人，而在2003年则是3750万人。这份报告是由联合国艾滋病规划署（UNAids）和世界卫生组织（WHO）共同发布的。报告显示，今年全球将有超过300万人死于与艾滋病有关的各种疾病，其中儿童超过50万人，今年会有500万人新感染上艾滋病。

报告还说，有证据表明，在一些国家成年人感染艾滋病的比率开始有所下降，这显示诸如推广使用避孕套以及敦促人们减少性伴侣数量等举措起到了一定作用。但总体来说，艾滋病的传播仍呈不断上升之势。有关专家为此提出警告，要想减缓病毒的蔓延，各国必须明显加大各种预防措施的实施力度。

（国际在线独家资讯 张咏）