"People here are not afraid of AIDS," says Petr Weiss, a leading Czech sex researcher. "Czechs do not protect themselves enough. The use of protection against unwanted pregnancy has improved significantly. However, the protection against AIDS is not sufficient."

Dec. 1 marks World AIDS Day, and Czech healthcare workers are talking about the rise of HIV infection here in recent years.

In 2005, there were 90 new cases of HIV reported, up from 72 in 2004, according to the National Reference Laboratory on AIDS (NRL AIDS). As of Nov. 1, there have been 77 new HIV cases registered in 2006.

While those numbers seem low — especially when compared to some African or Asian countries — Marie Brůčková of NRL AIDS says they speak to a growing laissez-faire attitude toward condom use and the risks involved in unsafe sex.

In June, the Czech branch of the marketing-research company ACNielsen announced that condom sales in this country have been steadily falling in recent years. In 2005, retail outlets sold 1.4 million fewer condoms than in the previous year, the company reported.

"Definitely, attitudes are changing. Fear of AIDS is not as big an issue as it was years ago, when the whole world saw celebrities like Freddie Mercury [of British rock band Queen] die of AIDS," Brůčková says. "People were much more afraid then than they are now."

Remember AIDS?

This change in attitude has been a worrying trend across Europe.

With the availability of effective retroviral drugs that can delay the onset of full-blown AIDS, Brůčková says, "People don't really see the full impact of AIDS infection. Without this fear, people have forgotten about AIDS."

Earlier this month, the European Commission (EC) launched a new campaign to remind them. The "AIDS - Remember Me?" campaign invites European youths to submit screenplays for a film promoting awareness of HIV and AIDS. The winning film will be produced by the EC at a cost of 40,000 euros ($51,600/1.1 million Kč).

The contest follows a Nov. 9 report from the European Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General that concluded fewer Europeans are practicing safe sex than when last surveyed four years ago.

Only 60 percent of Czechs say the AIDS pandemic has led them to practice safer sex, the study found.

Statistics show youths are the group most at risk in the Czech Republic. According to the 2006 United Nations AIDS Epidemic Update, the primary mode of HIV transmission in the Czech Republic is unprotected gay sex. These men are predominately in the 20 to 35 age range, Brůčková says.

Since the first Czech case in 1985, a total of 899 HIV cases have been documented in this country. Full-blown AIDS developed in 204 of them, and 123 have died.

Activists such as Václav Strouhal, chairman of the Czech AIDS Help Society (ČSAP), remain dedicated to raising awareness in the country. During the past nine World AIDS days, ČSAP has manned a booth on Wenceslas Square, distributing out condoms and information leaflets to passersby.

"We need to keep informing people so that they are more careful," he says.

Weiss acknowledges that despite increases, the Czech Republic continues to have a low rate of HIV infection. "The number of HIV-positive people here is relatively very low, together with Slovakia probably the lowest in Europe," he says.

But Brůčková maintains that numbers don't tell the full story: Many are likely unaware they're infected or choose not to seek testing or treatment. In reality, the actual infection rate is likely up to three times higher than the statistics show, she says.