Over 350,000 HIV registered cases in Russia: Top health official

Moscow, May 15 (UNI) Chief Public Health Official Gennady Onishchenko today said Russia has over 350,000 registered HIV cases.

''The HIV spread started in 1987, when the former Soviet Union registered its first case. As of now, Russia has over 351,000 HIV- infected people,'' Mr Onishchenko said at a conference on 'HIV/AIDS in East Europe and Central Asia'.

He said the HIV rate was low in 43 regions of Russia (total 89 regions), and very high in 12, including the Irkutsk region, the Samara region, the Khanty-Mansi autonomous district, Moscow, the Moscow region, the Leningrad region and the Chelyabinsk region.

''There are 200 HIV cases per 100,000 residents, which is a very high rate,'' he noted.

He pointed out that earlier HIV used to spread mostly among intravenous drug addicts, but now its transmission mainly occurs through sexual contacts.

''HIV is transmitted sexually in over 70 per cent of cases in 45 regions,'' Onishchenko said.

Expressing serious concern about the high rate of HIV-infected females, he said that 50 per cent of them were in the reproduction age.

UNI XC PR HS1700