The rate of HIV infection has almost doubled in Europe and the epidemic remains a major public health issue in Europe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Monday.

48,892 newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection were reported in 2007 from European countries except Austria, Italy, Monaco and the Russia and the annual rate of infection increased from 39 per million people in 2000 to 75 per million population in 2007, ECDC said in a report for World AIDS Day.

The highest HIV rates in Europe were reported from Estonia, Ukraine, Portugal and the Republic of Moldova, it added.

Injecting drug use is still the main mode of HIV transmission in the eastern part of the WHO European Region, while in the central and western European countries, the predominant mode of transmission is heterosexual contact. The number of HIV cases reported among men having sex with men has also increased, according to ECDC.

(Xinhua News Agency December 2, 2008)