AIDS IN A FEW EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TODAY.

  By: Martyna Kocurek, Karol Danielczyk, Marcelina Ścierska, Martyna Skoczylas (from Poland), Emanuella Dance, Agnes Cupin, Diana Domocos, Antonia Crista, Stefania Bogdan (from Romania), Lucía Loureiro, Sergio Dopico, Víctor Sánchez, André Rey and Bella González (from Spain).

This is a research article composed by our students in Romania, Poland and Spain. We all would like to thank these students for their work.

Romania:

Since 1985, 20,146 cases of HIV/AIDS have been diagnosed in Romania. Almost half of them were children younger than 14 at the time of the diagnosis.

12,866 people are living with HIV/AIDS in Romania as of December 31st 2014. Most of them (57%) are men, 45% are from the age group 25-29 years (accounting for the Romanian cohort born in the late 80s) and 208 (~2%) are younger than 14.

 

The HIV prevalence and incidence in adults has increased steadily since 2010.

Almost 2 out of 3 cases were males (72%). 41% of all cases were in the age group 25-34 and 21% in the age group 15-24.

13 cases have been diagnosed among children younger than 4 years of age and 7% were among people of 50 years and older.

As in the previous years, in 2014 the main route of HIV transmission remains the heterosexual unprotected sexual contact (59% of all new cases), followed by injection drug use (21%) and homosexual transmission (16%).

With respect to social acceptance, discrimination exists worldwide, in Romania too. The humankind discriminates the people contaminated with AIDS.The AIDS epidemic has often been associated with severe negative public reactions to persons who are assumed to be infected by AIDS. Science has changed, but much of the society is stuck in the old days.

Society is aware of the fact that AIDS has become a real threat. There are all kinds of campaigns aiming to inform people about all they need to know about AIDS. The media are also trying to get involved and to help people become aware of the risks. For example, one of the campaigns relates AIDS to drug addiction.

Poland:

In Poland, cases of people with HIV and AIDS have been registered since the year 1985. Since that time up to 2015, nearly 20.000 cases of people infected were recorded and, at present, 3300 people have AIDS. 1322 is the number of sick people that have died. 13% of new cases arise every year. We have analysed data from last three years and we have got some information about people infected by AIDS. Men represent a little bit more than 80% (in 2013 -87%, in 2014 – 84%, in 2015 – 85%). Women are only about 15 – 20% (in 2013 – 13%, in 2014 – 16%, in 2015 – 15%). Children are only less than 2% (in 2013 – 1,7%, in 2014 – 1,1%, in 2015 – 1,8%). Old people are about 1% (in 2013 – 0, in 2014 – 1,3%, in 2015 – 1,7%).

Age	Percentage of infected people in Poland
0 – 20	7 %
21- 49	84 %
above 50	9 %

By the mid 80's people in Poland were very afraid of AIDS. They thought that the disease was very transmissible and they could infect people out from home. After 30 years, we can observe a tolerance increase towards sick people. However, Polish society is still divided into 2 groups. One of them wants to help infected people and make their life better. Another one avoids any contact with sick people.

To deal with the problem we celebrate World's AIDS Day (on December the 1^st), as the whole Europe. There are different campaigns to raise awareness of AIDS and meetings with sick people to decrease healthy people's fear. Though, AIDS prejudice is still an issue in Poland. It is sad that special homes for infected people are needed because they are rejected by their friends and families.

 

Spain:

Data from the Spanish Ministry of Health shows an increase on AIDS cases: in 2014, we have 3.366 new cases, that's 10 new cases per day, what means an AIDS rise in Spain as 3% per year. The total percentage will reach 9'34 infected persons per 10.000 inhabitants. Campaings against AIDS haven't achieved their target and the virus continues to spread over than 3.000 new cases per year since 2008.

Sexual intercourse is the main way of infection and it represents 80% of infection cases, and infection by injected drugs has decreased and it represents now 3'4% of total cases.

The Spanish Ministry of Health has put the spotlight on the large downfall of mortality in the last decade, as between 2003 and 2013, the number of dead people has descended to 54%.

However, we calculate in 130.000 or 160.000 the total number of infected people, of wich 25-30% haven't been diagnosed.

In Europe:

We have recently suffered a record number of infected people. As Zsuzsanna Jakab, OMS directress in Europe, has declared, in 2014 Europe has recorded more than 142.000 new AIDS cases, what represents an ugly record and a serious worry for we all. Most of these cases have been detected in Eastern Europe, as we can read in a research ellaborated by OMS Europe and the ECDC (European Control Diseases Centre).

FONTS FOR THE PICTURES (in order pf appearance):

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