Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 47 804 663 as at 9am on Thursday July 25 2002.
Aids is posing a serious threat to Kenya’s tourism sector because of the large number of visitors who come into the country without being screened.
Ali Korane, Permanent Secretary of the Tourism Ministry, said the government found evidence that new infections come about through sexual interaction between tourists and locals. He said a technical team was formulating new government policy on Aids within the tourism sector.
Suggestive song: The Tanzanian government has banned a popular song that contains a verse saying “Give me Aids, so that I can suffer with it” because it promotes the spread of the disease.
Segere (Give Me, I Give You) is by the Young Stars Modern Taraab. Earlier this month, the song was criticised in the Tanzanian Parliament for making a mockery of the fight against Aids. An estimated two million Tanzanians are infected with HIV.
In the genes: People infected with HIV who have key variations in two genes — the KIR and the HLA-B — take longer to develop full-blown Aids, an online article by Nature Genetics says. Examining blood samples from more than 900 people with HIV, scientists found the onset of Aids was delayed in volunteers who had specific variations in both genes.