UN Lowers Estimate of HIV Cases (1/2)

United Nations officials now say fewer people than they thought are infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Last year, the agency known as UNAIDS estimated that thirty-nine and one-half million people were living with H.I.V. On Tuesday it reduced that by sixteen percent to a little more than thirty-three million.

Agency officials say the lower number represents better information and information from more countries. The single biggest reason, however, was an intensive re-examination of India's epidemic" class="hjdict" word="epidemic" target=_blank>epidemic. At the same time, the agency reduced its estimates for five African countries: Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Also, UNAIDS says it now believes the number of new H.I.V. cases per year reached a high in the late nineteen nineties at more than three million. This year, it estimates that two and one-half million people became infected, and that two million people died of AIDS.

Yet even as the number of new infections has dropped, the number of people living with H.I.V. is increasing. Better treatments are extending lives, and more people are getting the drugs. Also, the new report says prevention efforts appear to be changing risky behavior in several of the countries most affected" class="hjdict" word="affected" target=_blank>affected by H.I.V.

参考译文：

联合国官方称，现有感染艾滋病病毒的人比他们预期的要少。去年，称为联合国艾滋病规划署（UNAIDS）的组织预计将有3950万人感染HIV病毒。周四，该组织将预期值下调了16%，预计感染人群为3300万多。

规划署官员称较低的数字代表了更好的信息以及来自更多国家的信息。然而，最大的一个原因是由于加强了对印度流行情况的复查。同时，规划署降低了对安哥拉、肯尼亚、莫桑比克、尼日利亚和津巴布韦五个非洲国家的预测值，

并且，UNAID说现在他们认为，在20世纪90年代末，每年新发HIV病例达到一个高水平，超过3百万。今年，规划署预计将有250万人被感染，并且将有2百万人死于艾滋病。

然而，即使新感染患者的数量有所下降，HIV病毒携带者的数量却在不断上升。良好的治疗延长了患者生命，而且有更多人可以接受药物治疗。新报告也提到预防措施看来改变了一些感染HIV病毒最严重的国家中（人们的）高危行为。