Together with Spain, Portugal and Serbia, Greece is one of the most serious dissemination sources for the HIV virus in Europe, according to research by the Health Hygiene and Epidemiology laboratory at the Medical Faculty of the Athens University. Using the method of gender and race geography, genetic material from 17 countries has been examined for the period of 1996-2004. Research proves that because of tourism and emigration, people end up in foreign countries, get infected with the AIDS virus, don’t get tested and go back to their home or a third country and spread the disease.

According to this method, Greece has spread the virus of AIDS in the most destinations – 7 countries – Spain, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Holland, Belgium and Norway. The next country by dissemination of AIDS is Italy – spreading the disease in 5 states. On the other hand, the disease is “imported” to Greece from Spain and Holland.

Following the method of gender and race geography, the first transmission of the AIDS virus is located in genetic material from 1959, taken from the bones of an African carrier. A second trace has also been found in a 1960 carrier from England. In that period, there were a couple of sporadic victims in Africa and Norway but at the time they didn’t capture the interest of scientists. During the 80’s of the 20^th century, the first AIDS epidemic burst in Haiti and was rather quickly transferred to the USA. The first official warning for the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is launched by the health officials of the USA in 1981, following the death of five homosexual men in Los Angeles. In the following years the syndrome is often called the cancer, the plague, or the disease of the homosexual before scientists actually revealed the tragic truth – the condition is transferred during heterosexual intercourses as well – also by blood transfusions and as an innate disease.

Nowadays, statistics point out that AIDS has cost the lives of 25 million people, most of them living in Africa, and other 40 million carry the virus. According to data from November 2008, HIV positive people in Greece are 9 229, 2 829 of which have developed the disease and 1 582 have died. Most of the cases are recorded in 1996, and have been on the decreases until 2002, but have started rising again ever since. The average annual increase of the infected is 23%. The first AIDS case in Greece dates back to 1978 and is transferred from Africa.

Experts from the Health Hygiene and Epidemiology laboratory at the Medical Faculty of the Athens University warn that condoms are still the safest protection from AIDS during sexual intercourse. Concerning the drug addicted, the laboratory recommends using one-time needles and syringes. They also recommend that people from all the risk groups – homosexuals, prostitutes, drug addicts, people with promiscuous sexual relationships and those who have had blood transfusions for some reason – should often submit themselves for AIDS tests and examinations. Doctors are explicit in their opinion that in the last years, medicine has advanced quite significantly. Many effective medications and methods have been recently discovered, guaranteeing that given an early discovery of the virus, the person won’t die from AIDS.