Last year, 804 new cases of HIV infection were reported in Portugal, confirming the downward trend observed since 2000, according to the report HIV Infection in Portugal 2023, published this Monday.
The document, presented by the Directorate General of Health (DGS) and the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), states that there has been “a 56% decrease in the number of new HIV infections and a 74% decrease in the number of new HIV infections.” new cases of AIDS between 2013 and 2022.”
“The figures reflect that the majority (75.5%) of new cases were reported in men (three cases for every case in women) and the average age at diagnosis was 37 years,” the statement said on the evolution of the infection. in Portugal.
The highest rate of diagnosis is in the 20-39 age group, where 54.5% of new HIV infections are registered, according to the report, which was presented during the week of World AIDS Day.
The Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML), followed by the Algarve region, has the highest rate of new diagnoses.
However, 57.2% of new cases were diagnosed late, and in people aged 50 years and over this figure rises to 69.9%.
The paper notes that while heterosexual transmission is the most common (47.7%), men who have sex with men (MSM) account for the majority of new diagnoses in men (61.8%).
“In 2022, 151 deaths were registered in people living with HIV, and in the majority (51.7%) of these cases, the infection was diagnosed more than 15 years ago. The average age of death was 60 years,” he emphasizes.
During the presentation of the report at the Associação Abraço hall in Lisbon, the director general of the Ministry of Health, Rita Sa Machado, said the DGS was “proud of what it has done recently.”
“We will continue to work on this topic, we will not let this positivity stop us from working on this topic, and we will continue to work to end AIDS,” he stressed.
Referring to the 40-year HIV epidemic in Portugal, the report notes that over the past four decades there have been 66,061 cases of infection, of which 23,637 reached the AIDS stage and 15,779 deaths were recorded among people living with HIV.
“It is estimated that by the end of 2021 there will be 45,532 people living with HIV in Portugal, 94.4% of whom already knew their diagnosis,” he emphasizes.
The document also states that 2023 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Syringe Exchange Program.
Since its inception, the program has distributed more than 64 million syringes, resulting in a “reduction in the proportion of new diagnoses among people who inject drugs.” There was an 84% decline in new diagnoses in this population between 2013 and 2022.
The report also says that in 2022, “there will be significant increases in both the number of HIV tests carried out in the country – around 70,000 using rapid tests and more than 370,000 using laboratory tests prescribed by the National Health Service – and in the number of people who used pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), with approximately 4,500 people receiving it at least once a year, 2,161 of them for the first time in their lives.”
According to the People Living with HIV Stigma Index, HIV-related stigma and discrimination persist, with four in ten people reporting that they have been the target of some form of social discrimination, and 15% reporting that they have already suffered some kind of violation of their rights . rights.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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