The number of new diagnosed cases of HIV infection decreased in the European region of the World Health Organization (WHO) between 2013 and 2022, the European Center for Disease Control announced this Tuesday.
The report from the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC), published on the occasion of World AIDS Day, which is celebrated on Friday, states that HIV infection “continues to affect millions of people.”
“The number of women diagnosed decreased by 26% in the WHO European region, from 52,788 in 2013 to 39,070 in 2022, and the number of men diagnosed decreased by 21%, from 90,208 to 71,118,” the report indicates.
Last year, 110,496 HIV diagnoses were reported, the majority in Eastern Europe (72%), particularly in Russia and Ukraine. The Western and Central regions also reported cases (10% and 8%, respectively).
In the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the European Union (EU), 22,995 new diagnoses were reported.
The WHO European region records more than 2.4 million cases diagnosed in the last 30 years, and more than 620,000 people in the EU and EEA.
“The overall trend largely reflects the situation in Russia, where diagnoses have decreased by 31% since 2019. The remaining countries have seen significant variations, especially in 2022, when several nations experienced dramatic increases in the number of diagnosed cases originating from Central and Eastern Europe, including previous positive cases,” the report states.
By contrast, a decline of more than 50% was recorded among men in Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. Among women, the greatest reduction was observed, between 2013 and 2022, in Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania.
Still, the WHO European region recorded an increase of 4.2% compared to 2021, but diagnoses are 20.5% lower than in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. In the EU/EEA, cases increased by 30.8% between 2021 and 2022, but decreased compared to 2019.
“Several factors contribute to differences in HIV infection trends between 2021 and 2022, including the resumption of surveillance activities, the expansion and introduction of new testing strategies in many countries, migration patterns, the rise of Covid-19 restrictions and the influx of refugees, especially from Ukraine,” he highlights.
Furthermore, according to the report, the increase in previous positive diagnoses played an important role in defining the epidemiological profile of HIV in Europe, mainly in the EU/EEA and the Western region.
“Heterosexual contact has become the predominant route of HIV transmission in 2022, especially among women,” he highlights, adding that, “despite a decrease in HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with men (MSM) since 2014, there has been a slight increase in 2022, particularly among MSM of migrant origin.”
With late diagnosis, approximately half (50.6% in the WHO region, 47.9% in the EU/EEA) of people diagnosed in 2022 had “CD4 cell counts less than 350 per mm3.”
HIV transmission among people who inject drugs remains low in most EU and EEA countries, and a small increase in the number of diagnosed cases will be seen in 2022.
“This increase is significantly smaller than those observed in other modes of transmission, thanks to the presence of well-established signals and effective harm reduction programs in most EU/EEA countries. (…) This slight increase could be attributed to previous positive diagnoses, since 24.4% of all individuals infected by drug injection fall into this category,” the document indicates.
This slight increase was recorded in most EU/EEA countries, but Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal and Romania experienced a decrease of more than 30%.
Ten countries, including Portugal, consistently reported data on HIV testing performed between 2013 and 2022, excluding anonymous unlinked testing and blood donation testing.
Source: TSF
