THERE WAS a 3.6 per cent increase in newly diagnosed cases of HIV in Ireland in 2008 over the previous year, while the number of Aids cases continues to decline, according to a report released by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
These additional 405 cases brought the total number of HIV infections in Ireland up to 5,243 at the end of 2008.
The total number of Aids cases at the end of 2008 was 999, including the 28 new cases of Aids diagnosed last year. There were three deaths reported among Aids cases in 2008, bringing the total number of deaths to 411.
“This is reflected in the sustained drop in reported Aids cases since 2003,” said Dr Aidan O’Hora, a specialist in public health medicine at the centre.
“The overall HIV data suggest that the numbers are increasing, but are concentrated among a number of risk groups and may fluctuate from year to year.”
Of the HIV cases diagnosed last year 258 were male, 146 were female and the gender for one case was unknown. Of these 178 were heterosexually acquired, 97 were among men who had sex with men and 36 were among injecting drug users. Information on risk group for 87 was not available.