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Wednesday, February 12, 2025

HIV in Poland. Every third person does not know that he is infected

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It is estimated that every third person infected with HIV in Poland does not know about it because they have never done the test, and more than half of patients with the infection come to medical care when they already develop diseases caused by the virus – says Anna Marzec-Bogusławska, director of the National AIDS Center. Since the beginning of the year, 1,972 infections have been detected in Poland.

December 1 is World AIDS Day.

From 1985, when the first case of HIV infection was detected in Poland, until the end of 2023, almost 33,000 infections were recorded, over 4,000. people fell ill with AIDS, 1,496 patients died. Globally, in 2023, almost 40 million people were living with HIV. 1.3 million new people were infected with the virus, and 630 thousand died of AIDS-related diseases.

HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus. The infection may be asymptomatic for many years, which makes diagnosis very difficult. It may not cause any symptoms for up to 8-10 years, but during this time the virus keeps multiplying and destroying the immunity of the infected person. It may cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome – AIDS.

– The problem of HIV/AIDS affects every adult who engages in risky unprotected sexual contact. Men who have sex with men are particularly at risk of infection, although more and more infections are detected in heterosexual people. Sexual contact is currently the main route of infection, often under the influence of psychoactive substances and alcohol, says Anna Marzec-Bogusławska, director of the National AIDS Center.

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Since the beginning of this year, 1,972 infections have been recorded in Poland, and in 2023 there were a record number of them – 2,879 – more than twice as many as the annual data from a decade ago. According to the National Institute of Public Health, 322 people became infected in Poland in 2023 as a result of homosexual contacts, and 214 people – as a result of heterosexual contacts. Additionally, 36 people reported infection through injecting drugs, and 25 – through vertical infections, i.e. mother-child infections. Most people diagnosed with HIV infection were in the “no data on the source of infection” group.

– Some, even 40 percent, are infections from the pandemic, which were not registered during the lockdown and were only included in the 2023 statistics. We must also take into account that we have a wave of migration of refugees from Ukraine, where before the start of hostilities the estimated it turns out that even 1 percent population of this country are infected people – explains Marzec-Bogusławska.

“More than half of patients reach medical care too late”

The low level of reliable, fact-based knowledge about HIV in society is also responsible for the high number of infections. According to the head of the National AIDS Center, this is especially visible among young Poles, and it is with them in mind that the “My first time” social campaign is being conducted. – Its aim is to popularize early HIV diagnosis, especially among people who have never performed this test in their lives because they do not feel at risk of infection – he explains.

People with a positive test result are treated free of charge. So far, the Health Policy Program of the Minister of Health has covered over 20.5 thousand people. people.

If a person living with HIV takes antiretroviral drugs regularly and has an undetectable viral load for half a year (a condition defined as the presence of viruses that can multiply in the blood), he or she is non-infectious to sexual partners according to the “n=n” principle, i.e. “undetectable=non-infectious”.

PAP

Progress in pharmacology has revolutionized the treatment of people with the virus, but also influenced the public perception of HIV. – Today we talk less about the risk of infection, but it has not disappeared. Moreover, it is estimated that every third HIV-infected person does not know about it because he has never taken the test, perhaps not taking the risk of infection personally. Moreover, more than half of patients with infection reach medical care too late, when diseases caused by the virus already appear. That is why education, prevention, and efforts to detect infection and start antiretroviral treatment as soon as possible are so important – emphasizes Marzec-Bogusławska.

Next year, the Ministry of Health will allocate twice as much money – almost PLN 6 million – for the operation of 29 consultation and diagnostic points where you can perform an HIV test free of charge, anonymously and without a referral.

Proposal to change an article of the Penal Code

The head of the National AIDS Center calls for changing Art. 161 of the Penal Code (human exposure to infection) regarding the penalization of HIV infection. It currently reads: “Whoever, knowing that he or she is infected with HIV or affected by a venereal or infectious disease, a serious incurable disease or a really life-threatening disease, directly exposes another person to infection with this virus or such disease, shall be subject to the penalty of imprisonment from 3 months to years. 5.” – There is no reason for HIV infections to be the only ones singled out in this article – it is stigmatizing and harmful. It is enough for them to be subject to the general regulation regarding conscious exposure to infection with an infectious disease. Fighting the stigmatization of infected people is a priority of many programs supporting people with HIV, also on the international forum – explains Anna Marzec-Bogusławska. These recommendations were sent to the Ministry of Justice.

PAP

Main photo source: Shutterstock



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