By the end of the year, it is expected that it will be available in our country. prophylactic treatment of the HIV virus, PrEP. A special commission set up to work out how and to whom PrEP will be available has already submitted its proposal to the leadership of the Ministry of Health, which, unless the unexpected happens, will make announcements by the end of the month. Among the conditions recommended by the experts is to be tested for HIV infection before starting treatment, as well as to conduct annual testing of those receiving treatment for both HIV and other infectious and non-communicable diseases. Recall that in September last year, an amendment was voted that establishes the availability of PrEP. At the same time, experts ask that self-tests for HIV be available in our country, which will help diagnose new cases of infection faster. This is already being done in other countries, but in Greece, a law passed at the initial stage of AIDS in the country and considered obsolete, prohibits the introduction of these tests in our country.

34th AIDS Conference

Since 2018, the number of new HIV infections has steadily declined from 5.8 cases per 100,000 population to 4 cases per 100,000 this year.

This was emphasized yesterday by the President of the Hellenic Society for the Study and Treatment of AIDS, infectiologist Marios Lasanas, the President of the Organizing Committee of the Conference Charalambos Gogos and the President of the Scientific Committee G. Toulumi, on the occasion of the 34th Panhellenic AIDS Conference, which will begin the day after tomorrow and end on November 27 at the hotel ” Caravel”.

Experts also noted a downward trend in the HIV epidemic in our country. In particular, from 01/01/2022 to 10/31/2022, 430 new cases of HIV infection were diagnosed and registered. Since 2018, the number of new HIV infections has steadily declined from 5.8 cases per 100,000 population to 4 cases per 100,000 this year. As Mr. Lazanas mentioned, this may be because there are now very strong therapies that are given on time, resulting in viral loads in people with HIV infection that are extremely low and to the point of being impossible. to transmit the virus. “Besides, due to the reduced flow of immigrants, we don’t have as many HIV-positive foreigners as we used to,” said Mr. Lazanas. However, experts are paying attention because, as they say, the landscape is not yet clear. “Due to COVID-19, we may have an underdiagnosis of the disease, while lockdowns (also known as lockdowns) have avoided behaviors with a high risk of transmitting the virus,” Ms Thulumi said. According to him, over time, the decrease mainly affects men who have had unprotected relationships with men, since this is a group that is well informed about the risk of acquiring HIV. Instead, he expressed concern about other populations such as women and men engaging in unprotected heterosexual relationships.