Heavily increased Increasing numbers of HIV infections in Eastern Europe

Number of first infections in many eastern countries doubled
Many Eastern European countries still have a major HIV problem. This is the result of a recent report by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Thus, e.g. In Bulgaria and Hungary, the number of first infections has doubled over the past decade. By contrast, in western EU countries such as Austria, France or Portugal, the number of cases has fallen by more than 25 percent.
More than 142,000 new infections
More and more people in the European Region are dealing with the dangerous human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This is shown by the latest data published by the ECDC and the WHO Regional Office Europe. According to the Regional Office, a total of 142,197 new diagnoses were reported in 2014 in the European Region - the highest number of new HIV cases since reporting began in the 1980s. http://www.euro.who.int/en/media-centre/sections/press-releases/2015/11/highest-number-of-new-hiv-cases-in-europe-ever According to the WHO, the However, information from 50 of the 53 countries in the WHO European Region has been taken into account, but no information was available for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
In Eastern Europe, an increased spread of HIV can be observed. (Image: Ezume Images / fotolia.com)

"Despite all efforts to fight HIV, there are over 142,000 new HIV infections in the European Region this year, a record that worries us a great deal," said Drs. Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe, according to the WHO Regional Office Communication. This would affect mainly the eastern countries including Russia and Kazakhstan, where a significant increase was recorded. Thus, there were 85,252 new infections in Russia (2013: 79,728), whereby only the diagnoses were registered and the number of unreported cases could be higher.

Germany records 3,525 new HIV diagnoses
The important thing, according to the ECDC, is the trend of recent years. Because while in some countries such as Bulgaria, Hungary or the Czech Republic doubled the number of initial infections during this period, while the proportion in other countries fell by more than 25 percent. These include, for example, Austria, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In Germany, according to the ECDC report, in 2014, there were 3,525 HIV diagnoses - an increase of seven percent compared to the previous year. In contrast, in 2014 the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports "only" 3,200 cases, which means that the number of new HIV infections will remain unchanged compared to 2013, according to the RKI.

Homosexual contact is the most common mode of transmission in EU countries
The reason for the high number of new infections in Eastern countries of the region, such as Estonia or Romania, is above all heterosexual contact and transmission through drug injection. In the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) states such as On the other hand, Germany, Hungary or Croatia see sexual intercourse between men as the most common transmission pathway for the virus. "The number of HIV diagnoses among men with same-sex sexual contacts has grown at a worrying rate - from 30% in 2005 to 42% in 2014, and all but six of the EU and EEA countries are experiencing an increase, "adds ECDC Executive Director Andrea Ammon.

However, a significant decline in HIV diagnoses has been recorded among migrants in the European Region over the past decade. In addition, there are indications that a significant proportion of those affected will be infected after their arrival in Europe, the Regional Office communication continues. Accordingly, this group should by no means be neglected on the advice of the WHO, but should remain a priority target group whose supply should not be affected by conflicts and disasters.

"We urge all countries in Europe to provide HIV testing, prevention and treatment services to all refugees and migrants, regardless of their legal status. It's also the safest way to protect your own population from HIV infection, "says Zsuzsanna Jakab.

36.9 million people worldwide live with HIV
Worldwide, the number of new HIV infections for 2014, according to the United Nations AIDS Organization "UNAIDS" is two million. This represents a decrease of more than a third in the last 15 years and the number of deaths has dropped from two million in 2004 to currently 1.2 million a year. According to UNAIDS, there are 36.9 million people living with HIV worldwide, including 2.6 million children under the age of 15. (No)