LATVIA: BIG JUMP IN H.I.V. CASES

The number of Latvians known to carry H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS,
grew last year by 84 percent and the number of new infections soared by 73
percent over the previous year, the deputy director of the National AIDS
Prevention Center said. Four in five new infections were caused by
needle-sharing among drug users, the deputy director, Inga Upmerce, said.
Although the number of new infections in the nation of 2.4 million people
remains tiny, at 807, and the total number of infections is only 1,765, the
rate of increase is worrisome and demands new prevention tactics, she said.
Latvia, like some other former Soviet republics, is experiencing one of the
world's most rapid increases in infection.