A latest report on HIV/AIDS said that the global epidemic continues to grow and there were evidences that some countries were seeing resurgence in new infection rates which were previously stably declining.(File Photo)

     LUSAKA, Nov. 21  -- A latest report on HIV/AIDS said that the global epidemic continues to grow and there were evidences that some countries were seeing resurgence in new infection rates which were previously stably declining.

    However, declines in infection rates are also being observed in some countries, as well as positive trends in young people's sexual behaviors, according to the latest figures published in the UNAIDS/WHO AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2006 on Tuesday.

    An estimated 39.5 million people are living with HIV in the world, according to the report. There were 4.3 million new infections this year with 2.8 million, or 65 percent of these in sub-Saharan Africa and important increases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where there are some indications that infection rates have risen by more than 50 percent since 2004.

    AIDS deaths have totaled 2.9 million in the world this year.

    The report said some countries that had showed earlier successes in reducing new infections had either slowed or were experiencing increasing infection rates.

    New data from the report showed that increased HIV prevention programs that were focused and adapted to reach those most at risk of HIV infection were making inroads.

    According to the report, declines in HIV prevalence among young people between 2000 and 2005 are evident in Botswana, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.