Concerns are raised about HIV “crime.” Some health officials are concerned that a growing trend to criminalize the transmission of HIV will hurt progress made in the fight against the virus worldwide, AP/Yahoo! News reports. According to a recently released report from the International Planned Parenthood Federation, 33 countries are considering legislation that would prosecute people who transmit the virus, and 58 countries already have similar laws or use existing laws to prosecute HIV transmission. Seven West African countries have passed such laws since 2005, AP/Yahoo! News reports. Paul de Lay of UNAIDS said he is concerned that such laws, if “applied badly,” could lead to policies that force people to undergo HIV testing or cause people to hide their HIV status. He added that this could move the epidemic underground, allow the virus to spread undetected and “set us back and do incredible damage.” Although some critics argue that laws criminalizing the spread of HIV are necessary for individuals who are “maliciously” spreading the virus, according to AP/Yahoo! News, many experts argue that those are extreme cases.

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