NO MATTER
WHERE YOU LIVE OR WORK YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
HIV AND AIDS
Где бы вы
не жили или работали вы обязаны знать о ВИЧ - СПИДе
The results of the
epidemiological monitoring of the spread of HIV-infection in Ukraine during
the period 1987 - 1997 showed that there were more than 23,000 HIV-positive
persons registered, but ultimately the real number of people living with
HIV is unknown.
During the period
January - August 1997 new HIV infections were reported in 5809 Ukraine
citizens and 7 foreigners. In the same period in 1996, only 2819 new HIV
cases were reported. Therefore the incidence of new infections has risen
by more than 200 %
in a year.
The cumulative number
of HIV positive persons reached 10,068 by August 1997. In the period January
- August 1997, 100 children were also registered as newly infected. Within
the total number of persons registered as HIV positive, IVDUs had grown
to 4932 compared with 2295 in the same period in 1996.
In August 1997, new
infections that month totalled 934 of which 804 (86 %) were IVDUs.
With regard to AIDS
diagnoses, 115 persons are registered, of which 3 are children and 32 are
adolescents.
The majority of HIV
and AIDS cases registered in 1997 are found in the southern regions of
Ukraine. This was also the case in 1996, with the Dnepropetrovsk region
having the highest rate of infection - 34.9 cases per 100,000. Other regions
have rates of infection
as follows:
-
Odessa region
- 33.8
-
Donetsk region
- 27.1
-
Republic of Crimea
- 17.1
-
Nikolaev region
- 12.2
-
Kiev (the Capital of
Ukraine) - 13.0
The average rate of
infection for Ukraine is 11.3 per 100,000.
The last two years
have shown an increased spread of cases of HIV-infection in children aged
0 - 19, many of whom are children born to HIV positive mothers. Up to the
September 1, 1997, there were 227 HIV-infected children officially registered,
20 of them
with an AIDS diagnosis.
Twelve children have died as a result of AIDS.
The majority of HIV-positive
persons are in the age group 20 - 39, with the number of teenagers constantly
increasing. During sociological interviews with young men (up to age 21)
it was found that for more than 70 % of them their first sexual experience
with women was pre-marital
and included sex workers.
The total number
of HIV-positive persons in cities of the southern Ukraine at present are:
-
Odessa
- 7,164
-
Donetsk
- 4,460
-
Nikolaev
- 3,499
-
Dnepropetrovsk - 2,791
Since Since 1985 in
Ukraine the birth rate has been decreasing. Previously the ratio of younger
to older persons in the working population was approximately 40 : 60. Today
in Ukraine is now 20 : 80. More than 49,4 % of the Ukrainian population
are women aged 15 - 28.
It is especially
worrying in the context of the above statistics that more than 80 % of
school-children show a decline in their physiological and mental status
reflecting the general socio-economic problems of the country. The further
development of the
HIV / AIDS epidemic
in a country with an already low birth rate and with a decline in general
health will be very serious.
Finally, from practical
experience of the epidemic in the former USSR we in Ukraine know that alongside
the wide use of safe sex practices we need to increase the use of specific
drug therapies for HIV and opportunistic infections and make them available
to
the population in
a way that is economically viable.
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