New HIV infections reported in Sweden rose to about 500 in 2007, a 20 percent jump from about 390 new infections in 2006, according to preliminary figures released Tuesday by the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI).
"We have especially seen an increase in the number of new infections among men who have sex with men [MSM] and needle-users," said Malin Arneborn, an SMI statistician. That trend has also been observed in other European countries, he said.
MSM cases rose from 50 in 2006 to about 80 last year, while injection drug-related cases doubled from 35 in 2006 to about 70 in 2007.
"We have an ongoing epidemic among needle-users in Stockholm," said SMI. "They have been infected by a virus strain that originated in Finland. It probably began spreading in 2006 but the increase only became evident in 2007."
While the number of infections acquired abroad constituted the majority, the number of pesons infected inside Sweden rocketed 70 percent last year, SMI reported.
"All [STDs] are increasing," Arneborn said. "People are having more unprotected sex."
"Interest in HIV/AIDS has gradually declined as people have become more accustomed to the threat," said researcher Claes Herlitz. "Fewer people are dying. .Risky sexual behavior has increased, and a greater number of people are having casual sex without using a condom."
02/05/08
HIV Infections on the Rise in Sweden: Officials
Source: http://www.afp.com/english/home/ ;Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention