HIV and AIDS in Germany still at an elevated level
The number of newly diagnosed HIV infections rose by 13 percent in 2005 according to the HIV/AIDS semi-annual report: from 2210 in 2004 to 2490 new infections in 2005). In the first half of 2005, the increase compared to the same period of the previous year was still 20 percent. Nevertheless, the number of new HIV diagnoses, equivalent to 3.02 per 100,000 inhabitants, is still at an increased level - in 2001 1.75 new diagnoses per 100,000 inhabitants were registered. After a phase of declining protection, an increase in condom use can now be observed among sexually active people according to the new representative survey "Aids in Public Awareness 2005" by the Federal Center for He alth Education (BZgA). The condom sales figures are also increasing again.
Current research results from the BZgA show that AIDS education continues to reach the vast majority of the population. The extensive reporting in the past year about increasing numbers of new HIV infections may have given the population a further impetus to protect themselves better. For example, those under 45 who live alone continue to use high levels of contraception. Also at the beginning of a new relationship, condoms are increasingly used again. While the share of condom use in this group was still 70 percent in 2004, it rose to 75 percent last year. Nevertheless, prevention efforts in Germany must be continued intensively, because more than a quarter of people under the age of 45 living alone still do not use condoms.
In recent years, the number of newly diagnosed HIV infections has increased most in the group of men who have sex with men (MSM) - again last year from 1078 (2004) to 1237 (2005). The number of newly diagnosed HIV infections increased from 276 in the previous year to 344 in 2005, even among people reporting a heterosexual risk of transmission. Proportionally, the increase in this group is even greater than in the case of the MSM. © Robert Koch Institute
