Russia has been suffering an AIDS crisis for over a decade and it keeps getting worse. A scientific research center in Siberia announced this week that a new strain of HIV is spreading throughout the country “at a rapid rate.”
The subtype, known as 02_AG/A, was first detected in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk in 2006 and now accounts for more than 50 percent of new HIV infections in the region, the research center said in a statement.
The number of HIV-positive people living in the Novosibirsk Region has increased from about 2,000 in 2007 up to an alarming 15,000 in 2012.
Natalya Gashnikova, head of the retroviruses department at the Vektor state biotechnology research center at Koltsovo, said the virus spreads much faster than Russia’s current leading HIV strain and might be the “most virulent” the country has ever seen.
This new strain is not limited to Siberia, though. Researchers claim it has also been found in patient lab tests in Chechnya, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
According to the United Nations, Eastern Europe and Central Asia are the only regions in the world where the HIV infection is on the rise. Russia in particular has experienced one of the fastest-spreading HIV/AIDS epidemics in any nation’s history. In a country of 143 million people, roughly one million are HIV-positive. The World Bank estimates that in 2020, Russia will lose 20,000 people per month to AIDS.
whatisthis
Horrible. I wonder how the ban on propaganda of “nontraditional” sex will affect sex education and ultimately this epidemic? I have an insane, liberal of course, hunch that it will only make it far worse.
Palmer Scott
About 10 years ago a “new super-strain” of HIV was supposedly hitting the gay community of New York. This “exceptionally virulent” infection was going to surpass the death rates we’d seen in the Eighties.
Law & Order even had an episode where a gay man was murdered to prevent him from spreading this “new” strain.
Turns out there was no “super-strain”, just a combination of HIV and meth use.
Until a reliable source confirms the existence of this even newer “super-strain” I’m going to view any story like this (especially coming out of Russia) with a great deal of cynicism.
Cam
Gee, WHAT a coincidence. Right when Russia is getting a huge backlash for their anti-gay laws, a supposedly new and virulent strain of a disease that is associated with gay men is announced by a govt. organization.
Yeah….suuuuuuuuure. Sounds just like that phony “Super AIDS” B.S. that went around in the U.S. that Palmer’s comment referenced.
Mr. E. Jones
@Cam:
I’m glad I’m not the only person who thought that. Seems like more scapegoating, and an excuse to round up gay men.
Stache1
Nazi Propaganda About the Jews.
A recurrent theme in Nazi antisemitism propaganda was that Jews spread diseases.
Nazi propaganda utilized these man-made epidemics to justify isolating the “filthy” Jews from the larger population.
dnyboy
While you all may have a point about wanting to blame gays, I think some of you may be jumping the gun a little. The article doesn’t mention anything about the spread of the disease being attributed to gay men. With that number of cases, it’s likely that many, if not most, of the transmissions are through straight people.
Sansacro
@Palmer Scott: Great point, esp as drug use is through the roof in those areas.
Fitz
Covering all the bases, lol. First queerty seeds all these articles and filters the response about the brave gay people who are willing to make money in Russia, and now they repeat the hysteria meant to portray us as walking time bombs. Boy… If I were to believe queerty I would think that Russia was right.
jimbryant
This is a ridiculous article which contradicts itself. Can AIDS propaganda get any worse?
jimbryant
Why do gay web sites keep repeating the propaganda tthat gay men are the cause of AIDS? Is it so that Lady Gaga can come to our assistance?
BJ McFrisky
@dnyboy: You’re absolutely right—this is about a disease spreading, but not necessarily among gay men. Where did we figure in the story?
Rockery
@jimbryant:
“Why do gay web sites keep repeating the propaganda that gay men are the cause of AIDS? Is it so that Lady Gaga can come to our assistance?”
LOL!!!!! My first laugh of the day
FStratford
I smell a rat.
It’s only happening in Siberia and the “stans” of the former USSR. Yeahits only happening in places where this claim can not be peer reviewed.
I say we take this likely fake news from Putin with a grain of salt
Polaro
This one is caught off of dirty Bibles.
CaptainFabulous
It’s popcorn time! Time to sit back and watch the drama unfold in the comment section! Claws out ladies!
fagburn
Can anyone tell me why this story is on a gay website?
2eo
@fagburn: Because it’s Anti-Gay propaganda and deserves exposing for what it is. We aren’t all like you Fagburn, some of us care about our community and want to make the world better.
Just because you don’t believe Russia are doing anything wrong in their laws and treatment of us, going so far as to compare activists in Russia and advocates of boycotts as comparable to holocaust deniers on your blog.
Cam
@dnyboy: said..
“While you all may have a point about wanting to blame gays, I think some of you may be jumping the gun a little. The article doesn’t mention anything about the spread of the disease being attributed to gay men.”
________________________________
Um maybe because Russia just recently banned gays from donating blood stating specifically that gays are spreading AIDS. I’ve included a link.
http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/08/27/russian-legislators-move-ban-gays-donating-blood-citing-hiv-aids-fears
Harley
Must have been brought in by Smowden. We all know how HE likes to fuck people over to make a buck. And now he resides in the most OPEN (cough-cough) country in the world.
Harley
Snowden. Damn auto correct. Lol.
AngelicaCarter
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2eo
@Harley: As someone whose donated money to keep Snowden out of US jurisdiction, and taken part in actions that stopped him being tracked by the USA I’d just like to tell you 99% of the world disagree with you.
Go fuck yourself.
Stache1
@CaptainFabulous: Did you bother to read the comments? Seems you’re the only one with the claws out.
Stache1
@CaptainFabulous: Ok I just saw 2eo’s above comment. Maybe your not completely wrong.
2eo
@Stache1: I don’t have “claws out”, I simply never retract them.
Harley
@2eo: well, keep donating cause Snowden is going to need the money.