Rospotrebnadzor reported an increase in the incidence of HIV among rural residents in 2022

Rospotrebnadzor records an increase in the incidence of HIV infection among villagers. In 2022, in 33 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, from 30% to 81% of all new cases of HIV infection were in rural areas, follows from the report (.pdf) Rospotrebnadzor on the state of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population in Russia in 2022.

“In recent years, the transmission of HIV infection among rural residents has intensified in a number of regions. The incidence among this category of the population is growing, in 2022 there were 35.1 cases of HIV infection per 100 thousand of the population (4% more than in 2021),” the agency’s report says.

The regions in which Rospotrebnadzor notes a high incidence of HIV infection among rural residents include the Perm Territory, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Tomsk, Samara, Tyumen, Kurgan, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk Regions, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the Republic of Buryatia, the Republic of Khakassia. In these subjects, the incidence of rural residents predominantly exceeds the value in the general population, which is not typical for HIV infection, the report says.

According to Rospotrebnadzor estimates, as of December 31, 2022, HIV prevalence was 794.7 per 100,000 people. At the end of 2021, this figure was 782 per 100 thousand. According to the agency, in 2022, HIV infection was most often diagnosed in Russians aged 30 to 39 years (37.9% of the total number of detected cases). HIV infection last year was found in Russians aged 40-49 years in 32.2% of cases, 50-59 years old – in 11.8%, 20-29 years old – in 11.2%.

Among newly diagnosed HIV patients, only 72% of those infected reported heterosexual contacts, 22.5% – intravenous drug use, 4.1% – homosexual contacts, Rospotrebnadzor reported.

The VTsIOM poll showed that the awareness of Russians about HIV and AIDS has remained virtually unchanged over the past five years: only four out of ten believe that they know a lot about the disease. The worst-known people about the HIV problem are people with secondary or secondary specialized education, as well as active TV viewers. Epidemiologist Vadim Pokrovsky told Kommersant that this is due to the lack of a “clear information campaign” among the population, and this situation negatively affects the fight against the spread of the disease.

More details – in the material “The Russians did not pass the HIV test”.

Erdni Kagaltynov