The adult (15–49) prevalence in Europe in 2018 varied from a high of 1.20% in Russia to a low of 0.1% in eleven countries.[2] Due to the availability of antiretroviral therapy, deaths from AIDS have stayed low since the introduction of protease inhibitors and combination therapy in the late 1990s. 14% are believed to have been infected by intravenous drug use in 2018.[3]
Regarding the social effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, there has been since the 1980s a "profound re-medicalization of sexuality".[4][5]
Albania
Albania remains to have a low number of HIV death-related cases. Between 1992 and until the end of 2011, Albania reported a total of 487 HIV cases. Among these 487 cases: 83.1% heterosexual contact, 12.7% were transmitted through sexual contact between men, and 4.2% were transmitted from mother to child. No HIV cases were transmitted through injecting drug use.[citation needed]
In the year 2011, Albania had a total 71 new HIV infections, 38 AIDS cases, and 9 AIDS-related deaths. Of the newly reported HIV cases, 73% were male.[citation needed] In 2021, incidence of HIV/AIDS of people aged 15 - 49 was 0.1 per 1000 uninfected population of the same age group.[6]
However, Albania remains to have a low HIV testing coverage for its general public. Only 2% of clinics and health facilities in Albania offered HIV testing services. Within those who acquired testing, 48% were men who were in sexual contact with another man.[citation needed]
Between the years 2018 - 2019, 51 individuals suffering from AIDS lost their lives in Albania, sparking outrage among organizations working on the issue.[7]
Austria
First case diagnosed in 1983. In 2010, 32% of the infected were infected through heterosexual contact. Austria has the highest conduct of HIV testing in Europe.[8]
The median age at the diagnosis lies between 30 and 36 years since 1990. 28.3% of the current cohort participants are female. The rate is highest in Vorarlberg and Upper Austria (both 36.6%). In the subgroup of the heterosexually infected, the rate of women is 50.9%. It is highest in Upper Austria (56.2%), Vorarlberg (53.3%), and Vienna (51.7%). Among patients newly diagnosed in 2010, 32.0% have been infected through heterosexual contacts. Since 2000, 42.8% of newly diagnosed HIV infections were transmitted through heterosexual contacts.[citation needed]
Armenia
The registration of HIV cases in Armenia started in 1988. As of 31 July 2019, 3,583 HIV cases had been registered in the country. Armenia was the first nation[9] in the European region, and one of 10 countries worldwide, which proved to have eliminated mother-to-child HIV transmission.[10]
Bosnia and Herzegovina
In reference to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, Bosnia and Herzegovina is considered to be a low prevalence country (less than 0.1%). Ever since the first registered case of AIDS in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1986 up until the end of 2017, 350 HIV infected persons have been registered and AIDS has developed in 102 cases. 80% of people who live with HIV in Bosnia are males, and the average age of the infected is between 30 and 39 years. The number of infected persons might be a bit higher, because of the fear and stigma people don't get tested. Some professionals estimate that there are between 900 - 1000 people who are HIV positive in Bosnia.[citation needed]
In addition, significant attention should be paid to the Roma section of the population due to their marginalisation, and youths, particularly adolescents and primary school pupils in Urban areas.[citation needed]
In the past couple of years HIV infection has been kept under control in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2021, the country registered approximately 382 persons with HIV or AIDS, with 20 to 30 new cases reported annually.[11] It is safe to say that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a very low prevalence country. Most groups of people that are identified as being exposed to a higher risks of HIV infection are being successfully followed thanks to the BiH programme to combat HIV/AIDS with support provided by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.[citation needed]
Through UNDP support, 22 centres were established across the country, which provide free, confidential HIV testing for all. Although Bosnia has free HIV therapy and medicaments, the biggest problem is that there is no access to modern medicaments that are available in some other European countries for example Germany, Austria, France etc.[citation needed]
Belgium
Belgium had a total of 18,908 HIV cases by the end of 2017 (not taking into account the people who are not aware of their infection). Prevalence is 1.7 cases per 1000 inhabitants.[citation needed]
2.4 new cases are diagnosed daily. Most of the newly diagnosed cases were transmitted through heterosexual contact, 49.6%. Secondly, HIV cases transmitted through sexual contact among men having sex with men (MSM) were at 46.6%. Third, 1.3% of HIV cases were transmitted through injected drug use. Despite easy access to HIV blood testing in Belgium, 36% of new cases are diagnosed at late stage of the disease. Late diagnosis is more frequent in the heterosexual population (46%) than in MSM group (27%). Unlike other countries in Europe, Belgium offers HIV testing by all practitioners, clinics, hospitals, and student services. Most diagnosis centers offer rapid and/or 4th generation testing without any costs and anonymously.[citation needed]
97% of diagnosed patients have access to adequate therapy, with viral charge being undetectable in the blood (uninfectious status) and stopping the spread of the disease.[12]
Czech Republic
As of 31 December 2018, there are 3,368 HIV-positive people diagnosed in the Czech Republic, the overall count—including foreigners (446 people)—is then 3,814 people. In 2018, this number increased by 208. The most affected area is the city of Prague (1651 cases). Since 1994, the Czech Republic has performed 28.8 million HIV tests. 415,813 people have received examinations at their own request. 75% of test recipients indicated that the reason for seeking a test was that they were a man who had sex with men. AIDS outbreak at 506 people (as of 31 December 2016, The statistics led from 1 October 1985), of which 255 of them died. The average age of diagnosis is 35 years for men and 39 years for women. In 2018 there was a decrease in diagnoses. There was a decrease of 46 people (citizens and residents) compared to 2017. [13]
Estonia
Biological surveillance of HIV in Estonia started in 1987 and starting from 2016, HIV testing is free of charge for all people, including those who do not have health insurance (for them, costs are covered directly from the state budget). The first HIV case in Estonia was diagnosed in 1988. The rate of newly diagnosed cases of HIV has decreased over the last decade (from 46.1 cases in 2005 to 9.4 cases per 100,000 in 2021).[14] From 2005 to 2015, hetero and homosexual transmission has increased as well as the proportion of cases among people older than 34 years. The number of cases among children and youth has decreased considerably. The proportion of women is stable around 40%. Transmission among people who inject drugs has stabilized but prevalence rates are very high.[15] So far injecting drug use remains the most important transmission route and the HIV epidemic continues to affect vulnerable populations more, particularly injecting drug users (IDUs) and their sexual partners.[16]
In 2018, 190 new cases of HIV and 25 cases of AIDS were diagnosed in Estonia. In 2017, a total of 219 people were diagnosed with HIV and 20 with AIDS. Since testing began in Estonia, a total of 9,878 cases of HIV and 536 cases of AIDS have been diagnosed.[17]
As per data available, 1.3 percent of adults are HIV positive — the highest percentage among all the countries in the European Union.[18] Unfortunately this number is presumed to be exaggerated because of duplicate registration until 2008 as a result of which 20-30 percent more diagnoses could have been recorded. The statistical error lies in that up until 2009 all anonymous diagnoses of HIV were also entered into official statistics. This means that a person who went to see a doctor after testing positive for the virus at an anonymous center could have been recorded twice – first anonymously and then with their name and personal identification code recorded. At the height of the epidemic, some people could have even been tested more than 2 times because a positive diagnosis is so devastating it can send people back to take the test again in hopes of a negative result and assurance by the doctor that mistakes had been made before. Of persons with HIV, 42% lived in Ida-Viru County and 39% in Harju County.[19]
Finland
During the 21st century, there have been less than 200 new HIV diagnoses annually in Finland. The number of new infections has been slowly increasing during the past decade. The number of AIDS deaths has stayed at an annual level of 15–30, year 2015 was the first year with no AIDS deaths in Finland. During 1980–2016, around 3,700 people had been diagnosed with HIV and circa 450 people had died of AIDS. Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos (THL) estimated that there are around 2500 people who carry the virus but are unaware of their infection. This would mean one in five HIV-positive people.[20] Most HIV infections are diagnosed in 30–34-year-olds, although most of HIV cases in Finland are discovered only in the AIDS stage.[citation needed]
Germany
HIV has a typical prevalence to western Europe. Sex between men and drug users are high risk populations. In Germany at the end of 2020 around 91 400 lived with HIV. Around 2000 were newly infected in 2020. 90-90-90-goal: In Germany 90% of HIV-Infected are diagnosed, 97% of those diagnosed are on HIV-medicine, of which 96% have undetectable level of HIV.[21]
Hungary
According to the disease and infection control department of the National Health Center of Hungary (NNGYK Járványügyi és Infekciókontroll Főosztály), there were 228 new HIV infections in 2023. At the same time the total number of confirmed infected persons living in Hungary was 3857. Of this 2104 lived in the capital city, Budapest.[22]
Experts believe that the total number of infected people could be around 15 thousand.
Iceland
HIV-1 was first reported in Iceland in 1985. By the end of 2012 a total of 300 patients had been diagnosed with HIV-1 infection in the country, of which 66 had developed AIDS and 39 died as a result of the disease.[23][24] Following the first introduction of HIV-1 to Iceland onwards to the end of 2012, the infection has been dominated by subtype B with a relatively low fraction of founders compared to the total number of introductions. HIV-1 infection in the country appeared to be highly concentrated among men who have sex with men and injection drug users and less among heterosexuals. The genetic diversity of HIV-1 in Iceland has increased significantly over time, most likely related to the increased proportion of foreign-born residents in the country from the mid-1990s.[25][26] In the most recent study investigating the prevalence and trends of transmitted drug resistance among antiretroviral-therapy naive patients in Iceland, the prevalence was found to be at moderate level (8.5%), with an evidence of decreasing prevalence of transmitted drug resistance in Iceland during 1996–2012.[27]
Latvia
By the end of 2016, there had been 6,972 diagnoses of HIV infection and 1,786 diagnoses of AIDS reported in Latvia in total. In 2016 registered 365 newly HIV cases (18.5 cases per 100 000 population) and 103 newly AIDS cases (5.2 cases per 100 000 population).[citation needed]
In 2018, there were 5,300 HIV cases in total in Latvia.[28]
Latvia has one the highest HIV infection rates in the European Union.[29] The dominant identified HIV infection pattern in Latvia is heterosexual relations (33% of new cases in 2018), followed by intravenous drug use (22%), followed by homosexual relations (6%). In 37% of new cases the way of infection is unknown.[30]
Lithuania
In 2016, there were 2,749 cases in the country in total. New infections had remained consistently under 200 per year but surpassed this mark in 2016 with 214 cases.[31]
The data regularly show that intravenous drug use is the main HIV infection pattern in the country: in 2017, 51.7% of new HIV cases were observed among drug users. During the same year, 24.3% new infections stemmed from heterosexual relations and 6.8% from homosexual relations.[32]
Romania
Romania had a total of 15,661 HIV cases by the end of 2018. The infection rate has decreased every year since 2008. In 2018, the number of new infections was almost three times lower than in 2008.[33] Romania registered in 2018 an incidence below the EU average.[34]
The number of people living with HIV in Russia reached more than 1.1 million in June 2021. Over the previous five years, between 85,000 and 100,000 new infections have been reported annually. These are only the officially registered cases; actual HIV infections are believed to be substantially higher.[citation needed]
Spain
Spain has had a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, but is now on the level with the rest of Western Europe. Spain, the US, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the United Kingdom accounted for three quarters of the infected population in the Western region.[36] The first reported cases of AIDS were in 1983. Two hemophiliacs, after receiving blood transfusions from the United States, died in Andalucía of the disease.[37] Later on, it was found that a male patient in 1981 was infected with AIDS after having had sex with other men while he travelled to the United States and Turkey.[38]
In 1997, Spain had 104 cases of AIDS per 100,000 which was triple the European Union average at the time. Spain also accounted for a quarter of the HIV infected population of Western Europe at that time.[39] However, in 2016 Spain had plateaued to a national average that echoed the average adult HIV prevalence in Western Europe & North American at 0.3%. 77% of those infected with HIV in Spain received antiretroviral treatment (ART), which is on par with the rest of Western Europe and North America at 78%.[36][40] The five demographics that have the highest prevalence of HIV infection are sex workers (2%), injecting drug users (2.3%), prisoners (5.4%), men who have sex with men (11.3%), and transgender people (13.3%).[39]
Sweden
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Number of HIV healthcare patients in Sweden ages 0-85 male & female[41]
From the end of the 1980s to the early 2000s, infection rate in Sweden was about 300 new cases per year, then the rate increased.[42] Today, about 8,000 people with HIV live in Sweden. Approximately 400-500 new cases of HIV are reported each year. The median age for those who were diagnosed with HIV in 2019 in Sweden was 38 years, with a spread between 0–75 years. The majority of the new HIV diagnoses in Sweden consist of cases where the HIV infection has been transmitted before migration to Sweden.[43]
In 2020, 106,890 people were living with HIV in the United Kingdom and 614 died (99 of these from Covid-19 comorbidity).[44] Of these, around 4,660 [45] are undiagnosed so do not know they are HIV positive. London continues to have the highest rates of HIV in England: 37% of new diagnoses in 2020 were in London residents.[citation needed]
Prevalence is highest in gay/bisexual men in London. However, the 2017 statistics showed a tremendous decrease in the number of newly HIV infected gay men during 2015–17. The number of newly HIV infected gay men decreased by a third in just two years.[46]
Men who have sex with men (MSM) refers to all men who engage in sexual activity with other men, regardless of sexual identity. The term was created by epidemiologists in the 1990s, to better study and communicate the spread of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS between all sexually active males, not strictly those identifying as gay, bisexual, pansexual or various other sexualities, but also for example male prostitutes. The term is often used in medical literature and social research to describe such men as a group. It does not describe any specific kind of sexual activity, and which activities are covered by the term depends on context. An alternative term, males who have sex with males is sometimes considered more accurate in cases where those described may not be legal adults.
The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS had killed approximately 40.4 million people, and approximately 39 million people were infected with HIV globally. Of these, 29.8 million people (75%) are receiving antiretroviral treatment. There were about 630,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS in 2022. The 2015 Global Burden of Disease Study estimated that the global incidence of HIV infection peaked in 1997 at 3.3 million per year. Global incidence fell rapidly from 1997 to 2005, to about 2.6 million per year. Incidence of HIV has continued to fall, decreasing by 23% from 2010 to 2020, with progress dominated by decreases in Eastern Africa and Southern Africa. As of 2020, there are approximately 1.5 million new infections of HIV per year globally.
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. It can be managed with treatment. Without treatment it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Taiwan's epidemic of HIV/AIDS began with the first case reported in December 1984. On 17 December 1990 the government promulgated the AIDS Prevention and Control Act. On 11 July 2007, the AIDS Prevention and Control Act was renamed the HIV Infection Control and Patient Rights Protection Act.
In 2008, 4.7 million people in Asia were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Asia's epidemic peaked in the mid-1990s, and annual HIV incidence has declined since then by more than half. Regionally, the epidemic has remained somewhat stable since 2000.
The history of HIV/AIDS in Australia is distinctive, as Australian government bodies recognised and responded to the AIDS pandemic relatively swiftly, with the implementation of effective disease prevention and public health programs, such as needle and syringe programs (NSPs). As a result, despite significant numbers of at-risk group members contracting the virus in the early period following its discovery, Australia achieved and has maintained a low rate of HIV infection in comparison to the rest of the world.
Since the arrival of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Italy in the 1980s, 120,000 cases of people testing positive for HIV have been registered with the Ministry of Health. Every year, 4,000 new infections are registered. Since the 1980s, 58,400 diagnoses of AIDS have been recorded, of which 35,300 have resulted in mortality. From the height of the epidemic in 1995 to today, the number of registered cases of AIDS has fallen from 5,600 to 1,200. The decline in incidence of AIDS is directly attributable to the efficacy of combined antiretroviral drug therapy, which has resulted in an increase in the number of people living with the diagnosis. The effectiveness of the drug therapy means that the 23,000 Italians diagnosed with HIV have better chances of not progressing to AIDS.
Angola has a large HIV/AIDS infected population, however, it has one of the lowest prevalence rates in the Southern Africa zone. The status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Angola is expected to change within the near future due to several forms of behavioral, cultural, and economic characteristics within the country such as lack of knowledge and education, low levels of condom use, the frequency of sex and number of sex partners, economic disparities and migration. There is a significant amount of work being done in Angola to combat the epidemic, but most aid is coming from outside of the country.
Kenya has a severe, generalized HIV epidemic, but in recent years, the country has experienced a notable decline in HIV prevalence, attributed in part to significant behavioral change and increased access to ARV. Adult HIV prevalence is estimated to have fallen from 10 percent in the late 1990s to about 4.8 percent in 2017. Women face considerably higher risk of HIV infection than men but have longer life expectancies than men when on ART. The 7th edition of AIDS in Kenya reports an HIV prevalence rate of eight percent in adult women and four percent in adult men. Populations in Kenya that are especially at risk include injecting drug users and people in prostitution, whose prevalence rates are estimated at 53 percent and 27 percent, respectively. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are also at risk at a prevalence of 18.2%. Other groups also include discordant couples however successful ARV-treatment will prevent transmission. Other groups at risk are prison communities, uniformed forces, and truck drivers.
Although Senegal is a relatively underdeveloped country, HIV prevalence in the general population is low at around 0.08 per 1000 people, under 1% of the population. This relatively low prevalence rate is aided by the fact that few people are infected every year – in 2016, 1100 new cases were reported vs 48,000 new cases in Brazil. Senegal's death due to HIV rate, particularly when compared it to its HIV prevalence rate, is relatively high with 1600 deaths in 2016. Almost two times as many women were infected with HIV as men in 2016, and while almost three times as many women were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ARV) as men, only 52% of HIV positive people in Senegal received ARV treatment in 2016.
UNAIDS has said that HIV/AIDS in Indonesia is one of Asia's fastest growing epidemics. In 2010, it is expected that 5 million Indonesians will have HIV/AIDS. In 2007, Indonesia was ranked 99th in the world by prevalence rate, but because of low understanding of the symptoms of the disease and high social stigma attached to it, only 5-10% of HIV/AIDS sufferers actually get diagnosed and treated. According to the a census conducted in 2019, it is counted that 640,443 people in the country are living with HIV. The adult prevalence for HIV/ AIDS in the country is 0.4%. Indonesia is the country in Southeast Asia to have the most number of recorded people living with HIV while Thailand has the highest adult prevalence.
The Philippines has one of the lowest rates of infection of HIV/AIDS, yet has one of the fastest growing number of cases worldwide. The Philippines is one of seven countries with growth in number of cases of over 25%, from 2001 to 2009.
Since HIV/AIDS was first reported in Thailand in 1984, 1,115,415 adults had been infected as of 2008, with 585,830 having died since 1984. 532,522 Thais were living with HIV/AIDS in 2008. In 2009 the adult prevalence of HIV was 1.3%. As of 2016, Thailand had the highest prevalence of HIV in Southeast Asia at 1.1 percent, the 40th highest prevalence of 109 nations.
HIV/AIDS in El Salvador has a less than 1 percent prevalence of the adult population reported to be HIV-positive. El Salvador therefore is a low-HIV-prevalence country. The virus remains a significant threat in high-risk communities, such as commercial sex workers (CSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM).
Honduras is the Central American country most adversely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is estimated that the prevalence of HIV among Honduran adults is 1.5%.
In 2016, the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in adults aged 15–49 was 0.3%, relatively low for a developing country. This low prevalence has been maintained, as in 2006, the HIV prevalence in Mexico was estimated at around 0.3% as well. The infected population is remains mainly concentrated among high risk populations, men who have sex with other men, intravenous drug users, and commercial sex workers. This low national prevalence is not reflected in the high-risk populations. The prison population in Mexico, faces a fairly similar low rate of around 0.7%. Among the population of prisoners, around 2% are known to be infected with HIV. Sex workers, male and female, face an HIV prevalence of around 7%. Identifying gay men and men who have sex with other men have a prevalence of 17.4%. The highest risk-factor group is identifying transgender people; about 17.4% of this population is known to be infected with HIV. Around 90% of new infections occur by sex-related methods of transmission. Of these known infected populations, around 60% of living infected people are known to be on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
With less than 1 percent of the population estimated to be HIV-positive, Egypt is a low-HIV-prevalence country. However, between the years 2006 and 2011, HIV prevalence rates in Egypt increased tenfold. Until 2011, the average number of new cases of HIV in Egypt was 400 per year. But, in 2012 and 2013 it increased to about 600 new cases and in 2014 it reached 880 new cases per year. According to UNAIDS 2016 statistics, there are about 11,000 people currently living with HIV in Egypt. The Ministry of Health and Population reported in 2020 over 13,000 Egyptians are living with HIV/AIDS. However, unsafe behaviors among most-at-risk populations and limited condom usage among the general population place Egypt at risk of a broader epidemic.
With an estimated 150,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in 2016, Haiti has the most overall cases of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean and its HIV prevalence rates among the highest percentage-wise in the region. There are many risk-factor groups for HIV infection in Haiti, with the most common ones including lower socioeconomic status, lower educational levels, risky behavior, and lower levels of awareness regarding HIV and its transmission.
The affected community is composed of people who are living with HIV and AIDS, plus individuals whose lives are directly influenced by HIV infection. This originally was defined as young to middle aged adults who associate with being gay or bisexual men, and or injection drug users. HIV-affected community is a community that is affected directly or indirectly affected by HIV. These communities are usually influenced by HIV and undertake risky behaviours that lead to a higher chance of HIV infection. To date HIV infection is still one of the leading cause of deaths around the world with an estimate of 36.8 million people diagnosed with HIV by the end of 2017, but there can particular communities that are more vulnerable to HIV infection, these communities include certain races, gender, minorities, and disadvantaged communities. One of the most common communities at risk is the gay community as it is commonly transmitted through unsafe sex. The main factor that contributes to HIV infection within the gay/bisexual community is that gay men do not use protection when performing anal sex or other sexual activities which can lead to a higher risk of HIV infections. Another community will be people diagnosed with mental health issues, such as depression is one of the most common related mental illnesses associated with HIV infection. HIV testing is an essential role in reducing HIV infection within communities as it can lead to prevention and treatment of HIV infections but also helps with early diagnosis of HIV. Educating young people in a community with the knowledge of HIV prevention will be able to help decrease the prevalence within the community. As education is an important source for development in many areas. Research has shown that people more at risk for HIV are part of disenfranchised and inner city populations as drug use and sexually transmitted diseases(STDs) are more prevalent. People with mental illnesses that inhibit making decisions or overlook sexual tendencies are especially at risk for contracting HIV.
HIV/AIDS in Japan has been recognized as a serious health issue in recent years. However, overall awareness amongst the general population of Japan regarding sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, remains low.
↑ European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control/WHO, Regional Office for Europe. HIV/AIDS surveillance in Europe, 2019 – 2018 data. Stockholm: ECDC; 2019.
↑ Aggleton, Peter; Parker, Richard Bordeaux; Barbosa, Regina Maria (2000). Framing the sexual subject: the politics of gender, sexuality, and power. Berkeley: University of California Press. p.3. ISBN978-0-520-21838-3.
↑ Relaño, Alfredo. “Confirmado oficialmente que dos hermanos murieron en Sevilla a causa del síndrome de inmunodeficiencia.” El País 5 May 1983. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
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