Lusaka  - In a development attributed to improvements in prevention and treatment, Zambia's HIV prevalence rate has fallen by two percentage points over the past year, a study showed Thursday.

The proportion of the population infected with the deadly virus that causes AIDS fell from 16 per cent to 14 per cent, the latest Demographic Health Survey published by the central statistics office revealed.

About 1,300 people died of AIDS in Zambia in 2008, making in the leading cause of death, ahead of malaria. Some 38,000 new cases of HIV infection were diagnosed during the year.

Analysts said the fall in the infection rate was due to improvements in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission and greater availability of life-prolonging AIDS drugs.

As treatment for them and their unborn babies becomes more widely available in clinics, pregnant women are said to be more willing to test for HIV.

While Zambia's progress on HIV prevention and treatment has been welcomed, there are fears that the government's efforts might be reversed because of the upswing in the sex trade on the back of slowing economic growth.

Africa's largest copper producer has been hard hit by falling international demand for the metal. The closure of some copper and cobalt mines in the Copperbelt region, and the resulting loss of thousands of jobs, has spiked an increase in prostitution. (dpa)