War in Ukraine has escalated HIV spread in the country

Conflict in Ukraine has increased the risk of HIV outbreaks throughout the country as displaced HIV-infected people move from war-affected regions to areas with higher risk of transmission, according to analysis by scientists. Ukraine, which has the highest HIV prevalence in Europe, has been at war since 2014 following political unrest in the country. An international team of scientists led by Oxford University and Public Health England (PHE) analysed genetic sequences to reconstruct viral migration patterns and found that the war-related movement of 1.7 million people was associated with the dissemination of HIV in Ukraine - and that areas with a high prevalence of risky sexual behaviour were the main recipients of the virus. The research is published in the journal PNAS . The study was part-funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC). Lead author Tetyana Vasylyeva, a PhD candidate in Oxford University's Department of Zoology, said: 'In a country of 45 million people, an estimated 220,000 are infected with HIV - the highest prevalence in Europe. The epidemic started in the 1990s with an explosive rise in the number of new infections in people who inject drugs, but today 70-80% of new infections are reported to be in heterosexual people who don't inject drugs.