New AIDS cases down 11% in European Union

The number of new AIDS cases fell 11% in 2001 in the European Union, with 8,210 new AIDS diagnoses made in the 15-nation block. AIDS rates were down in 14 of the 15 nations, with only Portugal reporting an increase and an overall AIDS incidence rate five times higher than the EU's average rate. Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency, reported that the AIDS incidence rate in the bloc was 21.8 cases per million inhabitants in 2001, down from 24.4 cases per million in 2000. Portugal had the highest AIDS incidence rate at 105.8 cases per million inhabitants, followed by Spain with 58 cases per million. The Netherlands and Finland had the lowest AIDS incidence rates.