Monday 1 December 2008

National Centre For AIDS Prevention: HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Armenia

From 1988 to 1 December 2008 656 HIV cases had been registered in the Republic of Armenia among citizens of the Republic of Armenia with 118 new cases of HIV infection registered in 2008.

Males constitute a major part in the total number of HIV cases - 489 cases (74.5%), females make up 167 cases (25.5%). 656 reported cases include 13 cases of HIV infection among children (2%).

About 60% of the HIV-infected individuals belong to the age group of 25-39.

In the Republic of Armenia the main modes of HIV transmission are through heterosexual practices (48.9%) and injecting drug use (43.9%). Additionally, there are also registered cases of mother-to-child HIV transmission, as well as through blood transfusions and homosexual practices.

According to the HIV infection transmission modes, the percentage ratio of HIV carriers in Armenia is as follows:

Transmission through heterosexual practices 48.9%
Transmission through injecting drug usage 43.9%
Mother-to-child transmission 1.8%
Transmission through blood 1.7%
Transmission through homosexual practices 0.3%
Unknown 3.4%

AIDS diagnosis was made to 284 patients with HIV, of whom 59 are women and 6 are children. 74 of the AIDS cases were registered in 2008.

From the beginning of the epidemic 154 death cases have been registered among HIV/AIDS patients (including 24 women and 3 children).

All the individuals infected via injecting drug use were men. As a matter of fact, some of them temporarily inhabited in the Russian Federation (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Irkoutsk, Rostov, Surgut etc.) and the Ukraine (Odessa, Kiev, Mareupol etc.) and were probably infected with HIV there. In addition, the majority of all the HIV-infected males (59.5%) are individuals who practice injecting drug usage, whereas the majority of women were infected through sexual contacts (98.7%).

The maximum number of HIV cases was reported in Yerevan, the capital: 301 cases, which constitute 45.9% of all the registered cases. Shirak Marz follows next - 66 cases, which constitute 10.1% of all the registered cases.

HIV/AIDS situation assessment has shown that the estimated number of people living with HIV in the country is about 2300.

*source: National Centre For AIDS Prevention

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