Earlier this week a meme spread around the internet that half of new HIV infections in Greece were the result of people purposely trying to get infected to get more government benefits.
That turned out to be total nonsense, and the result of a badly worded statement from the World Health Organization, which they apologized for yesterday.
But the truth about HIV in Greece is actually depressing. Thanks to the crisis and an increase in drug use, there has been a surge in HIV cases in recent years.
Macropolis has the charts showing the rise in reported cases.
So no, this is not some case of people purposely trying to get sick to get government money. But the connection between the economic crisis and a crisis of people's health is very real.
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