Ferrante Pasquale, Delbue Serena, Mancuso Roberta
University of Milan Laboratory of Biology, Don C. Gnocchi Foundation ONLUS, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
J Neurovirol. 2005;11 Suppl 1:50-7.
The HIV epidemic in Africa has changed over the last decade and the incidence of AIDS, which was very low at the beginning of nineties, is now dramatically increasing. In this paper, we analyze the current situation of AIDS epidemiology on the continent, based on data generated by the antenatal care surveillance systems. As described here, the spread and prevalence of HIV differ in each African country, with South Africa now facing the worst situation. In addition, we have focused our attention on the modes and risks of viral transmission, highlighting the spread of HIV in particular subpopulations, which, for different reasons, prove to be more affected by the epidemic, such as sex workers and children. Genotype evolution and distribution in the various geographical areas are also considered. From this brief overview, it appears clear that poverty, the lack of technologies and inadequate resources, due mostly to social and economic instability, are widening the already existent gap between Africa and industrialized countries.
在过去十年间，非洲的艾滋病疫情发生了变化，艾滋病发病率在九十年代初还很低，如今却急剧上升。在本文中，我们基于产前保健监测系统生成的数据，分析了非洲大陆艾滋病流行病学的现状。如本文所述，艾滋病毒的传播和流行情况在非洲各国各不相同，南非目前面临着最严峻的形势。此外，我们将注意力集中在病毒传播的方式和风险上，着重强调了艾滋病毒在特定亚人群中的传播情况，这些亚人群由于不同原因，受疫情影响更为严重，例如性工作者和儿童。我们还考虑了不同地理区域的基因型进化和分布情况。从这一简要概述中可以明显看出，主要由于社会和经济不稳定导致的贫困、技术匮乏以及资源不足，正在扩大非洲与工业化国家之间本已存在的差距。
