Within the next 25 years, AIDS is set to join heart disease and stroke as the top three causes of death worldwide, with estimates that at least 117 million people will die from the disease by 2030, according to a study published online Monday. When global mortality projections were last calculated a decade ago, researchers had assumed the number of AIDS cases would be declining. Instead, it’s on the rise. ‘It will be increasingly hard to sustain treatment programs unless we can turn off the tap of new HIV infections.’ – London epidemiology Prof. Richard Hays Currently ranked fourth behind heart disease, stroke, and respiratory infections, AIDS is set to become No. 3, say researchers in a new report in the Public Library of Science’s Medicine journal. It accounts for about 2.8 million deaths every year, but could near 120 million by 2030. Overall, the researchers predict that in three decades, the causes of global mortality will be strikingly similar worldwide - apart from the prevalence of AIDS in poorer countries. Most people will be dying at older ages of noninfectious diseases like cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer. The paper was produced by Dr. Colin […]