MORE than 130,000 people were newly diagnosed with HIV last year in Eastern Europe, the highest rate ever for the region.

As the number of infected sky rocketed in one half of the continent the number of new cases in Western Europe declined according to a report from the World Health Organisation.

3 The rate of HIV infection in Eastern Europe has spiked to its highest rate of new cases Credit: Getty - Contributor

European Union and European Economic Area countries saw a reduction in 2017 rates, mainly driven by a 20 percent drop since 2015 among men who have sex with men.

That left Europe's overall increasing trend less steep than previously.

All told, almost 160,000 people were diagnosed in Europe with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, according to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the WHO regional office for Europe.

Zsuzsanna Jakab, director of the WHO regional office said: “It’s hard to talk about good news in the face of another year of unacceptably high numbers of people infected with HIV.

3 130,000 new cases were diagnosed in the east of the continent this year as the infection rate dropped in the West Credit: Getty - Contributor

“While efforts to prevent new HIV infections are gradually showing signs of progress, we are not on course to meet the 90–90–90 targets by the 2020 deadline.

“My call to governments, ministers of health and decision-makers is bold: scale up your response now

“To support people living with HIV and protect those at higher risk of infection, we need to fast track action by tailoring interventions.

“This means investing wisely in prevention, testing and treatment particularly in key populations to end the AIDS epidemic as we promised.”

World first as scientists capture HIV infecting cells during sex on camera

3 The UN has warned that complacency has led to the increase in the region with men disproportionately affected Credit: Getty - Contributor

The United Nations AIDS agency UNAIDS warned in July that complacency was starting to stall the fight against the global epidemic, with the pace of progress not matching what is needed.

Some 37 million people worldwide are infected with HIV.

The WHO's European Region is made up of 53 countries with a combined population of nearly 900 million.

SILENT KILLER Here's what you need to know about HIV HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system and can kill if it's left untreated. Some 6,000 people are diagnosed with the condition in the UK every year, and an estimated 17 per cent of sufferers do not know they are infected. It is caught through the bodily fluids of an infected person – vaginal fluid, semen and blood. AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection, when your body can no longer fight life-threatening infections. With treatment, most people with HIV do not ever develop AIDS. Symptoms: Most infected people experience a short illness, similar to flu, two to six weeks after coming into contact with HIV. They include: Fever

Sore throat

Body rash

Tiredness

Joint and/or muscle pain

Swollen glands After this illness, which normally lasts one to two weeks, HIV sufferers will have no symptoms for up to 10 years - during which time they will look and feel well. But the virus will continue to cause progressive damage to a person's immune system. Only once the immune system is already severely damaged will the person show new symptoms. These include: Weight loss

Chronic diarrhoea

Night sweats

Skin problems

Recurrent infections

Serious, life-threatening illnesses There is currently no cure, but effective medicines mean sufferers can now live long and healthy lives.

Around 508 million of those live in the 28 member states of the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

The 130,000 new cases found in the eastern part of Europe is noted by WHO as the highest ever – with a rate of increase of 68 per cent since 2008.

It noted 59 per cent of the new cases are from heterosexual transmission according to data given by the patients.

The joint report said one reason for the persistence of HIV in Europe is that many people infected with the virus are diagnosed late, meaning they are more likely to have already passed it on and are also at an advanced stage of infection.

The WHO added: “One reason for the persistent HIV epidemic in Europe is that late diagnosis remains a challenge across the whole Region.

“Every second person diagnosed with HIV has already reached an advanced stage in the infection.

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It also found that in the European region, men suffer disproportionately from HIV, with 70 percent of new HIV cases diagnosed in 2017 occurring in men.

Since the start of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, more than 77 million people worldwide have become infected with HIV.

Almost half of them - 35.4 million - have died of AIDS.

Prince Harry accepts the Legacy Award the Attitude Awards on behalf of his mother Princess Diana’s HIV/AIDS activism