HIV infection in Ukraine (1987-96)

In Ukraine, the number of reported HIV infections increased extremely rapid ly during the second half of the 1990s, from less than 50 per lear until 19 94 to more than 12,000 in 1996 The increase was initially observed and was particularly striking in the regions along the Black Sea. The majority of r eported HN infections were diagnosed in injecting drug users. The extend of HIV spread through sexual transmission is more difficult to assess because of the strong social stigma attached to homosexuality and the lack of info rmation on sexual behaviour in general. The reported number of syphilis cas es have also dramatically increased, from 3,000 cases in 1990 to nearly 80, 000 cases in 1996. In this paper, we describe the surveillance systems for, and epidemiologic data on HIV infections, AIDS, and other STD in Ukraine f rom 1987 to 1996 We review the contributions of different vulnerable groups and we also discuss the factors influencing the past spread and the potent ial for future spr-ead of HIV infection and make recommendations for survei llance research and prevention.