AIDS progresses in Europe

The number of patients contracting the AIDS virus (HIV) is rising throughout Europe, as well as risky sexual behavior, reveals a study.

In a ranking of 29 countries (the EU plus Norway and Switzerland), as far as access to care and rights of patients are concerned, three little countries come to mind: Luxembourg, Malta and Switzerland.

Among the more populous countries, the UK ranks 9th position, France is 12th, Germany 13th, Spain 15th and Italy 27th, ahead of Greece and Romania, which are the last in the ranking.

"The number of people living with HIV is increasing in all EU countries, while spending on the disease were reduced in several countries. The risky sexual behavior is practiced more regularly, " summarizes Beatriz Cebolla, head of the study.

"No government seems to know the real number of people infected with HIV and there is still much to do," concludes Johan Hjertqvist, president of the Health Consumer Powerhouse, a Swedish research company who presented the study.

At the end of 2007 there were about 800,000 people living with HIV in Europe, the number grew up by 8% last year. The number of people dying from AIDS has sharply decreased since the introduction of specific therapies in the mid-1990s.

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