Eastern Europe/Central Asia-Adult Prevalence 0.8%

he number of people living with HIV has increased dramatically over the past decade. Estimates put the figure at 1.4 million at the end of 2004. The most serious epidemic is in Ukraine where the number of infections continues to rise. The largest epidemic by far is in Russia; however it is unevenly distributed across the massive nation. Up to 60% of all HIV infections have been reported in only 10 of the 89 regions of Russia. For the most part epidemics in this region are in their early stages with the exception of a few. Swift interventions can potentially halt and reverse them before they take hold. One interesting note of epidemics in this region is that the vast majority of infections have occurred in people under the age of 30. Also, injecting drug use is a major contributor, but sexual transmission is slowly increasing.