Ireland has one of lowest incidences of AIDS in the EU

IRELAND has one of the lowest incidences of AIDS in the EU, a new report shows.

Overall, the number of new cases of the potentially-fatal disease fell by 11% across Europe last year.

A total of 8,210 people including 15 Irish people were diagnosed with AIDS in 2001, according to the EU study. It is the seventh consecutive year that the annual number of new reported cases has decreased since figures peaked in 1994 with almost 25,000 cases. However, the EU average incidence of AIDS at 21.8 cases per million inhabitants last year or one new case per 40,000 Europeans conceals major difference between the various EU member States.