Number of HIV cases in ČR highest since 1985

Prague, Jan 30 (CTK) - The number of HIV positive cases registered in the 10.5-million Czech Republic in 2012 has been the highest in the Czech Republic since 1985 when the HIV testing was launched in the country, National Reference Laboratory head Vratislav Nemecek has said.

The laboratory has confirmed 212 new HIV cases of Czech citizens and foreigners with long-term residence, Nemecek added.

Consequently, the Czech Republic cannot be considered a country with the lowest HIV incidence in Europe any longer as the limit of two cases per 100,000 inhabitants has been exceeded.

"It has been confirmed that the trend of HIV incidence in the Czech Republic has long been considerably accruing," Nemecek said.

Compared to 2010, the number of HIV incidence cases increased by 32 in 2012, and by 59, compared to 2011.

In 1985-2012, 1887 HIV positive case were registered in the Czech Republic. AIDS developed in 366 cases and 266 died of it.

Last year, 185 men and 27 women were among the HIV positive cases.

The decrease in the number of HIV-infected women, which started in 2004, stopped last year. The share of women rose from 8.5 percent in 2011 to 12.7 percent last year.

The average age of HIV-infected men and women was 34 and 33 years, respectively. The HIV-infected men were aged from six to 56 and women from four to 63 years.

When tested positive, 156 people had no health troubles, 27 suffered from acute infections, in 14 cases the infection was diagnosed late and in 15 cases the disease has developed.

The highest number of the newly registered HIV-positive people had their usual residence in Prague. The highest number of the HIV-infected per 100,000 inhabitants is in the capital, too.

Out of 212 new HIV cases, 61 were foreigners with long-term residence: 18 from Slovakia, ten from Ukraine, five from Russia and Vietnam each, four from Moldova and three from Latvia, Poland and Serbia each.

The share of foreigners among the HIV positive has been rising in the long run and is approaching 30 percent in the country.

The HIV infection is in most cases transferred by sexual intercourse (90.6 percent), while 153 cases (72.2 percent) were men who got infected via homosexual intercourse.

The HIV infection transfer via intravenous drug application has long been low in the Czech Republic. Last year it was diagnosed in two men and three women.

Moreover, two HIV positive children were registered in 2012. They are siblings from a family of foreigners living in the Czech Republic on the basis of long-term residence permit. Both parents are HIV-positive.

HIV positive women gave birth to nine babies in the Czech Republic in 2012. Six mothers knew they were HIV positive when they got pregnant and three cases were revealed during screening. One of the babies was born abroad.