數據表示新增艾滋病毒感染率大幅下降

The number of people around the world who are newly infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has dropped dramatically - by 30 percent - over the past several years. That's according to the latest report from the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS.

根據聯合國關於艾滋病毒與艾滋病項目的最新報告，世界各地新感染艾滋病毒的人口數量在最近幾年已大幅下降，降幅達到30%。

Dr. Anthony Fauci at the U.S. National Institutes of Health has spent the last three decades trying to stem the pandemic. He says the biggest reason for the decline is people are getting treated.

美國國立衛生研究院的安東尼•福奇博士，在過去的三十年中試圖阻止艾滋病的大規模流行。他說，這一數據大幅下降的主要原因是人們開始接受治療。

"We know now, that when you put someone on treatment, not only is it lifesaving for them, but it also dramatically diminishes the likelihood that they will transmit their infection to their sexual partner, " said Fauci.

美國國立衛生研究院安東尼•福奇說：“現在我們知道，當你讓艾滋病毒感染者接受治療，它不僅能夠挽救他們的生命，也極大地削弱了他們將病毒傳染給自己的性伴侶的可能性。”

The cost of anti-AIDS drugs has dropped from $10, 000 per year to about $140, money Dr. Fauci says is well spent, even for low income countries.

抗愛滋病藥物的成本已經從每年1萬美元跌至約140美元， 福奇博士說, 即使是對低收入國家來說,是這些錢也是用得其所。

"If you wait until they get sick, you have the cost of the medication, plus the very prohibitive cost of taking care of someone when they get sick, " he said.

福奇說：“如果你等到他們生病後再採取措施，你的成本將包括藥物，再加上照顧患者的高昂費用。”

Massive education campaigns have helped people change their behavior by using condoms and, for drug users, needle exchanges. These measures prevent people from exchanging blood or semen, which is how HIV commonly spreads. Male circumcision reduces transmission and is becoming more common.

大規模的教育活動，幫助人們改變自己的行爲，比如使用避孕套，以及讓吸毒者更換針具。這些措施防止人們交換血液或精液，而這是艾滋病病毒傳播的主要途徑。男性包皮環切手術也可以減少傳播，並且正在變得越來越普遍。

New infections have dropped in all age groups, but the greatest difference is seen among children. If pregnant women receive anti-viral medicine, their risk of passing HIV to their children drops below 5 percent.

新的感染率下降已出現在所有年齡組，但對於兒童的影響最爲明顯。如果孕婦接受抗病毒藥物，艾滋病毒傳遞給子女的危險性會下降到5％以下。

The result is that over the past 10 years, the number of children infected with HIV has dropped by 50 percent.

其結果是，在過去的10年中，感染艾滋病毒的兒童人數已經下降了50 ％。

World health officials talk about reaching the tipping point. Again, Dr. Fauci:

衛生組織的官員談到要達到一個臨界點。

"The tipping point is when the number of people who go on therapy is greater than the number of people who get newly infected, " he said.

福奇博士解釋說: “這個臨界點是，當去接受治療的人數超過新感染病毒的人數。”

Dr. Fauci estimates that for every person who gets into treatment, up to two more are newly infected. Not all have access to the life-saving drugs, and not all people know how vulnerable they really are.

博士福奇估計，每當有一個新的感染者開始接受治療，同時還有兩個或以上新的病毒感染者。並非所有人都有接受治療的機會，也不是所有人都知道他們的身體到底有多麼的脆弱。

African Americans are a key risk group. They make up 12 percent of the population, yet they account for more than 50 percent of new HIV infections.

非裔美國人是一個重要的風險羣體。他們只佔美國總人口的12％ ，但他們佔新艾滋病毒感染者的50％以上。

Thirty-five million people are living with HIV. As for an AIDS-free generation, Dr. Fauci says he would settle for another dramatic decrease over time.

目前全球大約有三千五百萬人感染了艾滋病毒。爲了一個沒有艾滋病的下一代，福奇博士說，新增艾滋病毒感染率還需要在一段時間裏繼續大幅度下降。