249 new cases of HIV reported in Armenia this year

YEREVAN. – From January 1 to August 31, a total of 249 new cases of HIV and 35 deaths from AIDS were registered in Armenia. Hovhannes Madoyan, the newly appointed Acting Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, stated this at a press conference on Thursday.

As per Madoyan, according to experts' calculations, the number of new cases to be registered by the end of the year will probably reach 400-450. At present, 2,310 patients are receiving treatment with antiretroviral drugs, and 303 of them have joined the treatment this year.

According to the specialist, as of July 31, a total of 60,000 HIV tests had been conducted in Armenia.

Although the national program for the treatment and prevention of HIV has been operating in Armenia for about 20 years now, many cases are still diagnosed too late, and 35 such patients have died this year.

Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, 4,039 cases of this disease and about 1,000 deaths have been registered in Armenia. Seventy percent of the positive cases are related to migration, as most of those infected are migrant workers and their sexual partners.

Hovhannes Madoyan called on people of Armenian to be tested for HIV, and noted that today such tests are very easy and accessible. And in case of a positive result, the patient can receive free treatment.

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