Researcher's grant to help Estonia track HIV/AIDS cases

A University 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 to meet with public health and government officials.

He will return to the North European country this year 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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