AIDS is wandering among us: every tenth Greek does not know that he is a carrier of the deadly infection

One in 10 Greek citizens is a carrier of AIDS, and because they do not know that they are infected, they can transmit the deadly disease to their sexual partners and spouses.

Report European Center for Disease Control and Prevention based on data collected between February and August 2023. The ECDC has begun compiling a report attempting to establish whether member states of the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA) are close to the targets set by the United Nations AIDS Program (UNAIDS).

United Nations goals are that by 2026, 95% of people living with HIV will know their status, 95% of those who know will receive specific (antiretroviral) treatment, and 95% of people living with the virus will receive appropriate treatment. therapy.

At the level EU/EEA 91% of carriers know their status, 93% are on treatment and 91% of carriers on treatment have achieved viral suppression. The situation in Greece is disappointing compared to the EU/EEA average.

Our country is one of 10 countries that are quite far from their goals; we are in 21st place: only 83% of carriers receive antiretroviral therapy. The rest are real “bombs” – they put their sexual partners at risk of infection.

Let us remind you that now in Greece a week of free anonymous testing for sexually transmitted diseases takes place (including AIDS). Click on the link and see where you can get tested and do a rapid test.

It is characteristic that, according to the National Organization for Public Health (EODY), the highest rates of late diagnosis are recorded:

• in women (72.6%),
• in persons infected through heterosexual sexual contact (74.4%),
• in older people (over 50 years old) at the time of diagnosis (68%),
• in persons of other nationalities (67.9%).

In Europe, more than 778 thousand carriers of HIV infection are registered in 26 countries. Of these, only Romania and Austria have surpassed the 95% target set by the United Nations (UNAIDS) for the percentage of people living with HIV who know their status. A total of 13 states are less than 5% away from achieving the 95% target.

Greece ranks 20th out of 26 countries, 12% below the target of 95%. Of the people who know they carry the HIV virus, only 622,000 are receiving antiretroviral treatment, the report said. The average is 93%, but depending on the country this percentage varies from 47% to almost 100%.

Nine European countries exceeded the UNAIDS target of 95%, the best of which is Norway, where almost 100% of those who know they are carriers are treated. Seven countries are within 5% of achieving the target.

In Greece, only 32% of carriers have achieved suppression of the virus, and we are in last place among 23 European countries! If we add to this percentage those who are not receiving treatment, it drops to 22%, while the corresponding European average is 77%, writes espressonews.gr.

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