2007-08-06

Decline in HIV in South Africa?

From the BBC:
The South African government says that for the first time, there may be signs of a reduction in the prevalence of HIV, the virus that causes Aids.

A government survey found that HIV prevalence among pregnant women across the country had dropped by one percentage point.

South Africa has one of the world's worst infection rates, with an estimated 5.5m people HIV-positive.

Last year 29.1% of pregnant women were HIV-positive compared to 30.2% in 2005.
29.1% is still a huge, huge, HUGE amount. I suppose any improvement should be welcomed. South Africa is one of the few countries whose death rate (22.45 per 1000 people) exceeds its birth rate (17.45 per 1000 people), which means that the nation is shrinking.


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