In terms of illness and death, AIDS is worse than the Black Death of the 14th century. Ninety five per cent of new infections of HIV are in the world's poor countries and heterosexual transmission is responsible for most of these, reports Peter Lamptey, in this week's BMJ.
Programmes to change behaviour and promote condoms and treatment of sexually transmitted infections are effective in preventing the spread of HIV. However, large scale prevention efforts have been successful in only a few countries, mainly because of inadequate resources and lack of international commitment, argues the author.
HIV/AIDS is likely to surpass the Black Death as the worst pandemic ever, as without access to drugs, most of the 40 million people currently living with HIV will die, writes the author. We urgently need an effective and safe vaccine, an affordable cure, and intensified prevention, care, and support programmes, he concludes.