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HIV/AIDS in Albania, 15 deaths and 113 more affected

2023-12-01 20:54:57, Shëndeti CNA

In Albania, the HIV/AIDS disease affected another 113 people this year, and caused 15 deaths among them. Data from the Institute of Public Health show that this disease has a low frequency and free, fast treatment.

But a representative of patients living with HIV, told the Voice of America on the World Day against HIV AIDS, that the disease has progressed a lot in the vast majority of newly discovered cases, while there are few cases when the disease is discovered in the initial stages.

In the material from Tirana, the experts point out that the increase in testing has revealed more people affected by HIV, so the cooperation of civil society is also needed to increase voluntary testing.

The HIV AIDS disease has claimed the lives of 15 people this year, 8 of which belong to new cases and 7 to those carried over for years, according to the data of the Institute of Public Health.

Newly affected by HIV AIDS in Albania this year are 113 more people, or 15 people more than last year, the PIH informs.

Among the newly affected, 87 cases are men and 26 women, 2 minors, 18 young people and 93 adults.

Unlike other years where young people predominated, this year there have been more affected people around 50 years old.

The representative of the association of people living with HIV, Olimbi Hoxha, says that the trend of the spread of HIV AIDS is the same as in other years and the vast majority of new cases have been discovered at a very advanced stage of the disease.

"The characteristic that continues to remain permanent is the late diagnosis. About 72 percent of the cases diagnosed this year were discovered in advanced stages of AIDS. Now 99 of them, almost all new cases are immediately put into therapy. The most affected age group this year is over 50 years old," says Mrs. Hoxha.

Experts estimated that the increase in HIV AIDS cases is related to the increase in controls and laboratory tests, and even said that the more tests are done, the more new cases are discovered.

Although it is called an urban disease with a low frequency, for HIV AIDS the checks for its detection are always insufficient.

Drug users constitute a population at risk, even though HIV is not widespread. However, the risk for young people is great.

The Aksion Plus organization offers methadone therapy for drug users in 8 centers across the country (Korçë, Elbasan, Vlorë Shkodër, Durrës, Berat, Fier and Sarandë).

Its director, Genci Muçollari, says that the known cases of drug users who have been affected by HIV are few, but there may also be hidden cases of HIV in their ranks from unprotected sex and the exchange of syringes.

"Drug users are increasing year by year. Albania now has nearly 100,000 users of all drugs at least once. Marijuana prevails among young people, and it leads them to stronger drugs like heroin, and then there are all the dangers of Hepatitis C, HIV, overdose," says Mr. Muçollari.

The Institute of Public Health notes that in over 95 percent of cases, HIV is spread in Albania through unprotected sexual relations, of which 72 percent of cases are from heterosexual relations and 23 percent from homosexual and bisexual relations.

This year, nearly 60,000 HIV tests were performed, roughly as many as a year ago, but a significant increase in testing was noted among pregnant women.

The head of the Institute, Eugena Tomini, says that late diagnoses can only be avoided by increasing voluntary testing and by the cooperation of civil society with the health system.

"The health system would be strengthened by combining activities, monitoring, reporting with civil society. It has an extraordinary role for the real-time display of cases, which are reported not only by the system, but also in the care of any case that is not caught by the monitoring system, the public and non-public health system", said Mrs. Tomini .

Health authorities provide free antiretroviral drug therapy to 837 people currently and to many more since 2004.

Experts claim that in addition to increasing voluntary testing, full control is also needed for all pregnant mothers, prevention of disease and stigma for this group of people, who are often discriminated against in employment and employment.

This disease has caused 343 deaths over 30 years in Albania, and has affected over 1,700 people, more than two-thirds of whom are men and 473 women, 53 children, 163 young people and 1,500 adult./ VOA