Europe's HIV epidemic growing
There appears to be a sharp increase in HIV infections in Europe with delayed diagnosis making control of the disease almost impossible.
The number of people newly diagnosed with HIV in Europe reached its highest level in 2016 since records began, showing the region's epidemic growing “at an alarming pace”, health officials said. That year, 160 000 people contracted the virus in the 53 countries that make up the World Health Organisation's European region. Around 80% of those were in eastern Europe.
“This is the highest number of cases recorded in one year. If this trend persists, we will not be able to achieve the target of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030,” the WHO's European regional director, Zsuzsanna Jakab, said. The trend was particularly worrying because many patients had already been carrying the HIV infection for several years by the time they were diagnosed, making the virus harder to control and more likely to have been passed on.
“Europe needs to do more in its HIV response,” said ECDC director Andrea Ammon. She said the average time from estimated time of infection until diagnosis is three years, “which is far too long”. Almost 37 million people worldwide have HIV and the majority of cases are in poorer regions such as Africa, where access to testing, prevention and treatment is more limited, but the HIV epidemic has also proved stubborn in wealthier regions like Europe. The report found that over the past 10 years, the rate of newly diagnosed HIV infections in Europe has risen by 52% from 12 in every 100 000 in 2007 to 18.2 in 2016. That decade-long increase was “mainly driven by the continuing upward trend in the East,” the report said.
NAMPA/REUTERS
“This is the highest number of cases recorded in one year. If this trend persists, we will not be able to achieve the target of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030,” the WHO's European regional director, Zsuzsanna Jakab, said. The trend was particularly worrying because many patients had already been carrying the HIV infection for several years by the time they were diagnosed, making the virus harder to control and more likely to have been passed on.
“Europe needs to do more in its HIV response,” said ECDC director Andrea Ammon. She said the average time from estimated time of infection until diagnosis is three years, “which is far too long”. Almost 37 million people worldwide have HIV and the majority of cases are in poorer regions such as Africa, where access to testing, prevention and treatment is more limited, but the HIV epidemic has also proved stubborn in wealthier regions like Europe. The report found that over the past 10 years, the rate of newly diagnosed HIV infections in Europe has risen by 52% from 12 in every 100 000 in 2007 to 18.2 in 2016. That decade-long increase was “mainly driven by the continuing upward trend in the East,” the report said.
NAMPA/REUTERS
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