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Number of AIDS patients in Azerbaijan made public

13 May 2016 10:47 (UTC +04:00)

Addressing a round table dedicated to combating AIDS in Azerbaijan, Almammadova said that 4,815 HIV-infected people have been recorded from 1987 to late March 2016.

She said 3,523 (73.2%) of them are male, 1,292 (26.8%) female, those at the AIDS stage number in 1,725 and the number of the people died of HIV infection is 744.

Almammadova added that 48.9% of the HIV patients have been infected via narcotic injection, 41.3% via heterosexual intercourse, and 1.8% via homosexual contact. 1.8% children have been infected from their mothers, 0.02% (1 person) via donor blood. The cause of infection is unclear of 7% patients.

“The infection is widespread among high-risk drug injection users. During the first quarter of 2016, 24.8% of the HIV cases and from 1987 to 2016 49.3% cases have resulted from narcotic injection. During the first quarter of 2016, 125 new persons were diagnosed with HIV infection. Of them, 121 (96.8%) are Azerbaijani citizens, 4 (3.2%) are foreign citizens,” she said.

Of the registered 121 Azerbaijani citizens, 84 (69.4%) are male, 37 (30.6%) female. 44 Azerbaijani citizens entered the AIDS stage over this period. HIV infection killed 9 Azerbaijani citizens in this period, according to Almammadova.

She went on to say that during the first quarter 2016, 31 people (25.6%) were infected with HIV through parenteral exposure, 71 people (58.7%) through heterosexual contact, 2 people (1.7%) through heterosexual contact and 17 (14.0%) – through unknown way.

Almammadova noted that AIDS pandemic and HIV infection remain as a serious problem in the field of infectious diseases in the world.

She said Azerbaijan is among the countries with low HIV prevalence. “Currently, 3093 HIV-infected people are undergoing antiretroviral therapy in Azerbaijan,” she added.

According to the amendment made to the Family Code of Azerbaijan on June1, 2015, 117 435 people underwent pre-marital medical examinations to detect HIV. The examinations revealed that 75 of them are carriers of AIDS, Almammadova concluded.