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AIDS takes on "young face" in Russia as infection rate increases

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MOSCOW, April 20. (RIA Novosti) - The number of confirmed HIV/AIDS cases in Russia grew by 5,000 this year with 1% of the population aged between 18 and 23 infected, Russia's leading expert on the disease said Thursday.

Vadim Pokrovsky, head of Russia's federal AIDS research center, said 355,360 Russians were infected officially with HIV/AIDS as of April 20, and the infection rate among young people could have dire consequences for the economy, already under threat from a potential demographic crisis.

"The situation with AIDS is continuing to deteriorate in Russia," Pokrovsky said. "The AIDS epidemic in Russia has a young face."

The doctor said most new cases were registered as a result of sexual contacts rather than through sharing dirty needles, which had long been considered the prime source of the disease in Russia. He said nearly an equal number of men and women had been infected.

Pokrovsky said the number of HIV/AIDS infected Russians per 100,000 people continued to grow, reaching 225.1 as compared with 200.7 in 2004.

He also said the State Council, an advisory body uniting lawmakers, ministers and regional leaders, would discuss the HIV/AIDS situation in Russia at an April 21 session.

In January, the European Union and the World Health Organization (WHO) pledged 4.5 million euros for the second leg of a program to fight HIV/AIDS in Russia. The program, to be completed by late 2007, aims to prevent and control HIV/AIDS in Russia, with a focus on antiretroviral drugs and provision of safer blood transfusions.

The Russian government has pledged $104 million for the fight against HIV/AIDS in 2006, more than 20 times as much as in 2005 ($4.5 million).

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