More HIV in Arkhangelsk

There were 75 new cases of HIV infected people registered in Arkhangelsk Oblast in 2009, Head Doctor Yelena Popova told Regnum. That is an increase of 27 percent. The region is still among the least affected by the HIV infection in Russia. Of Russia’s 83 federal subjects, Arkhangelsk Oblast is number 80 on the number of infected, Regnum reports. While most of the HIV infection in Russia spreads through intravenous drug use, the situation in Arkhangelsk Oblast is different. There, almost 70 percent of the infection spread through sexual intercourse. In Northwest Russia, the number of HIV infected is biggest in St.Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast and Murmansk Oblast.