AIDS in Greece

By the end of October 2014, the total number of registered HIV infections in Greece was 14,288 (82.3% men). Of these, 3638 have been diagnosed with AIDS. Approximately 6850 HIV-infected people are receiving antiretroviral treatment. The cumulative number of deaths is 2471.

As shown in Figure 1, HIV reports during the first 10 months of 2014 are less than the same period in 2011–2013. Between Jan–Oct 2013, the number of HIV reports was 7.2 per 100,000 population while in 2014, the reporting rate dropped to 5.9. The newly reported HIV diagnoses in 2014 were 654 (86.1% males).

During 2011–2013, an HIV outbreak among injecting drug users (IDUs) occurred in Greece (Table 1). Most HIV diagnoses in IDUs were reported in 2012. The number of reports decreased in 2013 though it was still much higher than the years prior to the outbreak. The decreasing trend has persisted in 2014. The majority of new HIV infections in 2014 are attributed to unprotected sexual intercourse, mainly between men. In total, 84 HIV seropositive IDUs were recorded in 2014, mostly males (n=69, 82.1%) at the age of 25–44 years old (n=70, 83.3%).

Transmission group Year of report

2010 / 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014

Men who have sex with men 307 328 289 290 281

(57,8%) (40,1%) (27,3%) (36,2%) (43%)

Injecting drug users 15 213 514 239 84

(2,8%) (26%) (48,5%) (29,8%) (12,8%)

Heterosexuals 98 145 118 112 114

(18,5%) (17,7%) (11,1%) (14%) (17,4%)

Undetermined 109 128 138 159 175

(20,5%) (15,7%) (13%) (19,8%) (26,8%)