More than 3% of people in their 40s are HIV positive: in Russia, HIV is spreading among the population

More than 3% of Russian men aged 40 to 50 are HIV positive. These alarming figures, revealed at the beginning of the week by a report from the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor – the Russian health agency – in Moscow, demonstrate a significant spread of HIV in Russia. The epidemic is gaining ground. It no longer targets only high-risk patients, but now concerns the entire population, according to the Moscow Times.

One of the key indicators of this shift is its generalization in 27 Russian regions where more than 1% of pregnant women are HIV positive, according to Vasily Akimkin, director of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, cited by the Moscow newspaper. The regions of Kemerovo, Irkutsk and Sverdlovsk located in the Urals and Siberia are the most affected with more than 2% of inhabitants infected.

The profile of those affected has changed significantly over the last fifteen years. Natalia Ladnaya, senior researcher at the Department of AIDS Prevention and Control at Rospotrebnadzor, points out that the average age of people affected by HIV has increased from 32 to 44 years in recent times. Furthermore, around two thirds of new infections now occur among heterosexual people.

Medical care faces certain limits. According to Natalia Ladnaïa, only half of people living with HIV in Russia have an undetectable viral load. At least 600,000 people therefore remain in a position to transmit the virus. In patients under treatment, the viral suppression rate is between 77% and 78%, a level significantly lower than the reference threshold of 95% recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

For the first time in six years, health authorities have noted cases of HIV transmission through direct blood transfusion. Contamination in hospitals is also exploding with at least 104 patients contaminated within health establishments due to the reuse or poor cleaning of medical instruments.