Much as I like to agree with our resident MD here, and much as I absolutely could not care less, if my partner happens to be UC or C, I am afraid, he got it very wrong this time.
Little first-hand experience and possibly a few road trips (or an extensive search) will show that the USA/Canada have a very comparable standard of living, real purchasing power per capita, etc. to Western and Central Europe. Equally so, relatively very few males in Western and Central Europe happen to be cut, in contrast to the number of cut guys in Northern America. Since 'Again America gets it right, Europe gets it wrong', wouldn't we all agree that the prevalence rates of infection in Western and Central Europe must be higher than the prevalence rates in Northern America?
Ouups, we shouldn't agree that hastily! Sure, the Europeans got it all wrong and the Americans got it all right. That's why the prevalence rates in Western and Central Europe range between 0.2% and 0.3%. The North American prevalence rates, I mean the 'right ones' are 0.3% to 1%. So the UNAIDS concluded that the average prevalence rate in Western and Central Europe for 2002-2004 stays at 0.3%, whereas the average prevalence rate in Northern America for the same period stays at 0.6%. Damned Europeans, who got it all wrong and have half the prevalence rates compared to the right Americans. Go, figure...
The truth is that Western and Central European governments, NGOs, etc. have spent much more resources on educating the general public. Over the years, that work and that investment have richly paid off.
For more, go to:
[url=http://www.unaids.org/wad2004/EPIupdate2004_html_en/epi04_03_en.htm#TopOfPage]
Just my 2 cents...
KD
