Western Europe-Adult Prevalence Rate-0.3%

A large majority of people in Western European countries have access to anti-retroviral drugs. As a result of this treatment, AIDS related deaths have stayed low since plunging in the mid 1990’s when anti-retrovirals were first introduced. However, a new problem has recently presented itself in many nations, where there is evidence of antiretroviral drug resistance in newly infected individuals.
New HIV infections through heterosexual intercourse have increased by 122% between 1997 and 2002; however this has been largely in immigrant communities from regions with serious epidemics such as Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. There has also been an increase in diagnoses among MSM, which could indicate a resurgence of risky behaviors. IV drug use is a major factor of epidemics in Spain, Italy and Portugal. Epidemics in the Czech Republic and other central European countries are still largely contained in the MSM communities.