New AIDS Cases Skyrocket

This is very bad news:

The world is losing the race against the AIDS virus, which caused record numbers of infections and deaths around the globe last year, the United Nations reported Tuesday.

Although there have been successes and money is starting to flow, the virus has now pushed deep into Eastern Europe and Asia, and tackling it will be even more expensive than previously thought, according to the report, which gives the most accurate picture to date of the state of the world's HIV disaster.

The number of people living with HIV has risen in every region of the world. Last year, a record 5 million people became infected, and 3 million died. UNAIDS chief Dr. Peter Piot said those figures were a testament to the world's failure to get prevention and treatment to the people who need it.

Nine out of 10 people who urgently need treatment are not getting it, and prevention is still only reaching one in five who should have it, the report said.

If only Reagan had not ignored it for most of his two terms here, one must wonder how the widespread nature of AIDS might have been altered.