More than 60 new cases of HIV infection detected in 9 months in the Vitebsk region

October 8, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. In January-September, 64 new cases of HIV infection were detected in the Vitebsk region, Valentina Ananyeva, head of the AIDS Prevention Department of the Vitebsk Regional Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, told a BELTA correspondent. The growth rate compared to the same period last year is 108.5%. The incidence rate in the Vitebsk region for 9 months was 5.3 per 100,000 population (9 months of 2011 - 4.4) compared to the national rate of 9.1. In total, as of October 1, 736 cases of HIV infection were registered in the region, which is one of the lowest levels among all regions of the republic: 1991 cases were registered in Minsk, 6812 in the Gomel region, 1827 in the Minsk region, 804 in the Mogilev region, 1054 in the Brest region, and 570 in the Grodno region. The prevalence rate in the Vitebsk region was 49.4 compared to the national rate of 115.2. The most unfavorable districts in the region are Liozno district (rate per 100,000 population 208.8), Tolochin district (169.1 respectively), Gorodok district (132.6), Dubrovno district (88.2), Vitebsk district (83.5), Polotsk district (67.9), as well as Polotsk (120.6) and Vitebsk (68.9). The age structure is changing. The population of working, fertile age 25-39 years is mainly involved in the epidemic process (55.6% of cases, or 409 people). The proportion of infection in the age group over 30 has significantly increased: from 36% in 2006 to 67.1% in 2011, and 50.8% in the 9 months of 2012. Valentina Ananyeva also noted a steady trend towards an increase in the proportion of sexual transmission of HIV (from 76% in 2006 to 78.1% in 2011). For 9 months of this year, the proportion of sexual transmission of infection was 93.7% (January-September 2011 - 76.3%). At the same time, an increase in the proportion of sexual transmission of HIV infection is observed among both women and men. Along with this, a decrease in the proportion of parenteral infection was achieved in the period from 2006 to 2010. For the reporting period of 2012, the proportion of parenteral transmission was 6.2%. For the entire observation period, 111 children were born to HIV-infected mothers in the Vitebsk region, of whom 69 were removed from dispensary observation with the diagnosis of "healthy". 16 children born to HIV-infected mothers have been confirmed with the diagnosis of "HIV infection". 7 children died. As of October 1, 16 HIV-exposed and 14 HIV-infected children are under dispensary observation in the region. 133 fatal cases among HIV-infected people were registered in the region (80 of them in the AIDS stage), including 18 fatal cases in January-September of this year (15 in the AIDS stage). The mortality rate for 9 months was 1.5 per 100,000 population (national rate - 1.9). -0-