Posted
1/4/2008
Arnold School
researcher helping Estonia
develop system for HIV/AIDS
An Arnold School of Public Health researcher has received a grant
from the Republic of Estonia to develop a program to understand its
burgeoning number of HIV/AIDS cases.
David Parker, who works for the USC School of Medicine, visited
Estonia several times in 2007 year to meet with public health and
government officials.
He will return to the North European country this month to assist
public health officials in developing a system to track its prevalence
of HIV/AIDS cases and, ultimately, establish education and prevention
programs.
"Estonia has the highest rate of HIV in Europe," said Parker, who is
pursuing a doctoral degree in epidemiology.
Some 504 new HIV cases per one million residents were registered in
2006 in the Baltic state, nearly five times higher than the average in
Europe, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and
Control.
"Many of the cases are related to intravenous drug use, but the
country still needs to understand the prevalence of the disease and how
best to develop public-health and medical systems to deal with this
serious problem," Parker said.
Ukraine, Russia and Portugal follow Estonia as the European countries
with the highest infection rates, the Center for Disease Prevention and
Control reported.
A total of 86,912 new HIV infections were reported in 50 European
countries last year. More than two-thirds of these were in ex-Soviet
Union republics.
Known for its abundance of lakes and beautiful scenery, Estonia has
spent the past 16 years grappling with the political and economic
changes that have arisen with independence from the Soviet Union.
Situated on the east end of the Baltic Sea, Estonia has a population of
about 1.3 million.
Parker, who is the HIV Consultant on the Estonia Project through the
Arnold School's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, has an
extensive background in healthcare program management.
The grant of $20,000 from Estonia, though small, has much larger
implications.
"The University of South Carolina has an opportunity to play a key
role in helping Estonia develop its care of people with HIV, develop a
system to track HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and build an
infrastructure for research on infectious diseases," he said.
To find out more about the Estonia Project, contact Parker at
rdavidp@gw.mp.sc.edu.
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