The bad news is that wiping out AIDS may not happen for some time; the good news is that it appears the virus epidemic is leveling off.

The AP writes that the United Nations said in a report on Monday that the number of people newly infected with HIV— 2.7 million— has remained unchanged since 2007. There were 34 million people with HIV last year. Though that’s a slight rise, it’s because people are living with the virus longer, the report said. AIDS-related deaths were down from 1.9 million in 2009 to 1.8 million in 2010.

“Dr. Paul De Lay, deputy executive director of UNAIDS, acknowledged the idea of eliminating AIDS infections and deaths is ‘more of a vision for the future,’ and would likely not be accomplished without new tools like a vaccine, which could take several decades. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for an AIDS-free generation and promised more money for programs in Africa.”

The World Health Organization is considering how to advise countries to get drugs to high risk groups before they get infected but “experts have voiced concerns about healthy people taking AIDS drugs, which have toxic side effects.”