Homophobia and the stigmatisation of people with HIV and AIDS are hampering efforts to tackle the spread of infection in Russia and the other countries of the former Soviet Union, reports New Scientist.

The number of people in Russia with HIV has risen to 1.6 million since 2001 - an increase of 150%.

Only by being more accepting of homosexuality and of the need to treat intravenous drug users can the region "turn the corner", Peter Piot of UNAIDS told the second Eastern Europe and Cantral Asia AIDS conference in Moscow last week.

The worry is that if people in these high-risk groups are stigmatised, they will resist coming forward for treatment - and carry on spreading the infection. There are also worries that governments under-report cases resulting from sex between men. Official figures suggest 1% of total HIV cases in the former Soviet Union are a result of sex between men, but a UNAIDS study that puts the figure at up to 23% in Ukraine suggests this is a serious underestimate.