NATION : U.S. Has 49.64% of AIDS Cases
The number of AIDS cases reported worldwide reached 254,078 during April, and the United States accounted for less than half of the total for the first time since a global count began in 1980, the World Health Organization said today.
WHO said the number of reported AIDS cases rose 16,968, or 7.16%, during April to a total of 254,078. American cases rose 1,845 during April to 126,127, or 49.64% of the known cases of AIDS worldwide.
Until early last year, U.S. cases represented as much as two-thirds of the total, but the proportion has steadily fallen each month because of improved reporting by developing countries, especially in Africa.
The biggest increases in reported cases of AIDS were were in the African countries of Uganda, where diagnosed cases increased by 5,069 to 12,444, and in Malawi, with 4,574 more cases for a total of 7,160.
Experts at WHO’s Global AIDS Program said the reported cases are believed to represent less than half the actual world total, which is currently estimated at more than 600,000.
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