Brazil's new AIDS cases down 4.7% in 2010

Brazil's new cases of AIDS totaled 34,200 in 2010, down 4.7 percent from 2009, Health Ministry said Monday.Infection ratio fell from 18.8 for every 100,000 inhabitants to 17.9 in the same period, it added.The government attributed the decline to the investment in prevention and testing, increased access to antiretroviral therapy, and the higher qualification of healthcare professionals.Health Minister Alexandre Padilha told reporters more investments will go to testing to speed up diagnosis."We are investing on quick testing to ensure that diagnosis is made as fast as possible," said Padilha. "The sooner the virus is discovered, the earlier treatment can start, granting quality life to those who live with the disease."From 1980 to June 2011, the number of AIDS cases in Brazil totaled 608,230, and currently the number of HIV-positive people living in Brazil accounts for 0.6 percent of the population, according to the ministry.Despite the decline in new AIDS cases, 12,000 Brazilians died from the disease in 2010, roughly the same compared with the 11,900 deaths in 2009. As a result, the AIDS mortality rate remained at 6.3 for every 100,000 inhabitants.From 1998 to 2010, infections among homosexual youngsters aged 15 to 24 increased 10 percent, which prompted authorities to focus on the age group in the annual AIDS prevention campaign starts Dec. 1, the World AIDS Day.