SciDev.Net

India's AIDS epidemic is not one, but many: in each geographic area, HIV is being transmitted in different ways and at different rates. Furthermore, resources to deal with it can vary wildly between regions.

In this article, Jon Cohen reveals why the epidemic could swell from roughly 4 million cases today to 25 million by 2010 — although this figure has sparked considerable controversy. Poverty, taboos about discussing sex, gender discrimination and millions of mobile workers are all prime risk factors.

One of the main fears, however, is the country's ability to train clinicians fast enough to administrate and monitor new drug treatments. If it can't, drug-resistant strains of the virus could develop — ultimately fuelling the epidemic further.

Link to full article in Science

Reference: Science 304, 504 (2004)