Half of new HIV cases in Aragon are diagnosed late, although the trend is improving

In Aragon, 45% of new HIV infections diagnosed in 2023 were detected late, according to the General Directorate of Public Health of the Government of Aragon. While this figure represents an improvement from the 52.7% reported in 2022, experts say it is a priority to continue to work to reduce late diagnosis, as the timing of the response to HIV is critical to ensuring greater treatment effectiveness and improving the quality of life of those affected. People.

Progress towards more ambitious goals
Nuria Gayan, Director General of Public Health of Aragon, highlighted the progress made in the fight against HIV, such as the UNAIDS 90-90-90 target for 2020, according to which 90% of people with HIV know their diagnosis, 90% are on treatment, and 90% of those who receive it were able to suppress their viral load. However, Gayan stresses that efforts must now focus on achieving the 95-95-95 horizon by 2030, which would raise these targets to 95% and include a new goal: ensuring that 95% of people with HIV enjoy a stigma-free quality of life. or discrimination.

There are currently 3,439 people living with HIV in Aragon, of whom 70.9% are men, and the main route of transmission remains sexual. Although the rate of new diagnoses is gradually decreasing, with 86 cases reported in 2023 compared to 91 in 2022, the issue of early diagnosis remains unresolved as 26.7% of new cases in 2023 represented an advanced stage of the disease at the time of detection.

Diagnostics initiatives
Among the programs implemented to improve early detection are the following: leave your markan initiative led by the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine and applied in eight public hospitals in Aragon. According to Dr. Patricia Trenc, coordinator of the Miguel Servet University Hospital, in 2023, emergency services performed 2,387 serological tests, which identified 11 positive cases of HIV that would not otherwise have been detected.

In addition, Public Health has distributed approximately 2,000 rapid sexually transmitted infection (STI) tests to non-governmental organizations, half of them for HIV diagnosis, and has allocated €140,000 to fund eight HIV prevention projects in 2024.

Increased incidence of STIs and affective-sexual education
Another problem is the increasing incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In 2023, there were 232 cases of gonococcal infection, 187 cases of syphilis and 87 cases of chlamydia, with higher rates among younger people. Faced with this reality, Gayan insisted on strengthening affective-sexual education from the school stages, highlighting programs such as Stories to talk about

And my skinpromoted in the Network of Health Promotion Schools of Aragon, in which 228 educational centers are registered.

With these measures, Aragon aims to not only reduce late HIV diagnoses, but also prevent new infections and contribute to a more informed, stigma-free society.