Spain has seen a decline in new HIV diagnoses over the past decade.
Spain has recorded a decline in the number of new diagnoses of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) between 2013 and 2023, according to a report published by the Ministry of Health and the National Epidemiological Center of the Carlos III Institute of Health.
Despite this, evidence suggests the persistence of late diagnosis, especially in women and older peopleand nearly half of those diagnosed in 2023 (3,196 in total) received it when the infection was already “significantly” advanced.
Sexual transmission and in men
Of the total number of cases in this year, 86.1% were men. with an average age of 36 yearsThe predominant form of transmission remains sexual (80.7%), with the highest incidence occurring among men who have sex with men (55%), of whom almost half are also diagnosed late.
heterosexual relationships They also account for 25.7% of new cases, while injecting drug use accounts for 1.7%; By age, the group with the most diagnoses are people aged 25 to 34 years (33.5%), followed by people over 50 years old (18.5%) and people aged 15 to 24 years (11.5 %).
Among persons under 25 years of ageLate diagnosis accounts for 33.4% of cases, and in people over 50 years of age this figure increases to 61.5%. Additionally, the heterosexual route has the highest rate of late diagnosis: 57.8% in men and 53.5% in women.
“Given the data presented, it is necessary to continue the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Spain in order to accelerate the reduction in the rate of new HIV diagnoses and late diagnosis. infection,” the health service said in a statement.
Differences by region of origin
The report also shows that 49.8% of new cases correspond to people born outside Spainof which 34.4% are from Latin America, of which women in turn make up 61.6% of these diagnoses.
In cases arising from Spain, Latin America and Western Europe Transmission is seen to predominate between men who have sex with men, while 57.9% of sub-Saharan Africans contracted the disease through heterosexual contact. Spanish citizens constitute the majority in various modes of transmission, with the exception of mother-to-child transmission.