The National Public Health Organisation (Εθνικό Οργανισμό Δημόσιας Υγείας) publishes annually the HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report in Greece. This annual edition includes data that have been reported by 31 December 2018. Data were reported by Infectious Disease Units, Outpatients clinics for HIV infected patients, HIV/AIDS Reference and Control Centres and Hospitals.
In 2018, 687 new HIV cases were diagnosed and reported. Totally, 90 cases (13.1%), who were diagnosed with HIV in 2018, had already developed AIDS or progressed to AIDS during that year. Sex between men accounted for 40.0% of HIV diagnoses in 2018 followed by heterosexual transmissions (22.4%) and infections attributed to injecting drug use (15.4%). The predominant age group in both males (34.0%) and females (44.4%) was that of 30-39 years old.
The cumulative number of HIV diagnoses since the outbreak of the epidemics (including AIDS cases) reported in Greece by 31/12/2018 was 17,389. Of these, 14,397 (82.79%) were males and 2,951 (16.97%) were females. Sex was not reported for 41 (0.24%) HIV diagnoses.
Unprotected male-to-male sexual contact is the most frequently reported mode of HIV transmission in Greece. In total, 48.2% of HIV diagnoses, that were reported in Greece were Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) (table 9). After excluding cases with undocumented mode of HIV transmission, the aforementioned percentage comes up to 57.6%.
An outbreak of HIV occurred among PWID; 319 infections were diagnosed in 2011 and 525 in 2012. However, HIV diagnoses attributed to injecting drug use have been decreasing since 2013 and increasing by 2018 [2013 (n=270), 2014 (n=120), 2015 (n=95), 2016 (n=100), 2017 (n=93) and 2018 (n=106)].
Of 3,754 cases infected through heterosexual contact, the majority (53.3%) were females (tables 10, 11). After 2010, however, the percentage of males among heterosexually-infected cases increased (2015; males 54.7%), whilst in 2016 we notice the inverse pattern emerging women in higher levels (58.9%). Similar was the trend for 2017 and 2018.
AIDS case reporting started in Greece in 1984 while HIV case reporting started in 1998. Both are anonymous, confidential and mandatory by Ministerial Decisions.
To read the full report, follow this link>>>