German AIDS: 2,000 new cases per year:

While not claiming to be among the worst hit, Germany records 2,000 new cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome every year. The national total stands at 44,000 cases, and slightly more than half that number have died of the disease. The world HIV infection total stands at 40 million, 4.9 million of whom contracted the disease in the last year - 100,000 more than did so in 2003. Germany is contributing funds to the global AIDS control effort (see this issue, page 12).