The AIDS figures in Belgium in 2021 remain relatively stable compared to 2019, the year which allows the best comparisons. The figures from Sciensano indicate this.
In 2021, 781 people were diagnosed with HIV, an increase of 4% compared to 2020. This slight increase is easily explained, according to Thierry Martin, director of the AIDS Prevention Platform: “2020 was the Covid year when many prevention centers were closed. Access to screening has been really hampered, we have witnessed a very significant decrease, of more than 20%, in cases of HIV infections“, he justifies.
The latest figures published are therefore reassuring, but need to be qualified. “2021 is therefore a relatively normal year and we can rejoice that this increase is not greater. This means that finally, the HIV epidemic in our country for ten years, tends to decrease. However, it remains at a high level, hence the importance, even today, of continuing prevention“, adds Thierry Martin
19,177 people live with AIDS in Belgium, of which 94% are diagnosed. “The treatment against HIV today is more and more effective, so much so that it prevents the multiplication of the virus in the body of the HIV-positive person. She remains HIV positive, but she will have almost no more virus in her body, and not enough to transmit HIV to another person during sex without a condom.“, rejoices Thierry Martin. However, approximately one in five people living with HIV would have an unsuppressed viral load and would therefore be at risk of HIV transmission.