The invasion of Ukraine has stymied healthcare services, allowing diseases such as HIV to spread unchecked. The rate of contagion has been difficult to gauge. But now, using a van equipped with portable research gear, virologist Ganna (Anna) Kovalenko is probing the hidden threat that HIV poses in the war-torn country.
HIV has been spreading in Ukraine since the 1990s, mainly through intravenous drug use but also sexual activity, says Kovalenko, of the University of California, Irvine. The Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014 and the expanded siege beginning in 2022 have exacerbated the problem by reducing access to testing, treatment and preventative measures, such as needle exchange programs.