east asia and pacific

trends

Abstracted from

UNAIDS AIDS Epidemic Update 2002
UNAIDS Fact Sheet: Asia and the Pacific, December 2002

At the end of 2003, between 700,000 and 1.3 million adults and children in the region were living with HIV. In 2003, it is estimated that the region saw about 150,000 to 270,000 new infections and approximately 32,000 AIDS related deaths. The HIV prevalence rate among adults in this region is about 0.1%.

The majority of HIV infections in this region are concentrated China . The epidemic has spread to 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and the number of reported HIV/AIDS cases has drastically increased in recent years. High rates of HIV prevalence have been found among people injecting drugs -35-80% in Xinjiang and 20% in Guangdong in China . The number of people injecting drugs and practicing unsafe sex appears to be on the climb leaving room for further spread of the disease

Japan is also seeing a steady increase in the number of reported HIV infections. The number of new HIV cases reported annually has doubled since the 1990s to more than 600 in 2001 and 2002. Early sexual debut is also another major reason for rapid spread of the disease in the Japanese youth.

Among the Pacific Island countries and territories, Papua New Guinea has reported the highest HIV infection rates with a HIV prevalence rate of about 1% among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic. The current adult prevalence rate is 0.22% and is rapidly rising. Papua New Guinea's HIV epidemic is transmitted primarily through unprotected heterosexual intercourse.

analysis:trends