Europe is not doing enough to detect HIV, hepatitis, health authorities warn
Many European countries are falling behind on efforts to detect life-threatening diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, a new analysis has found.
Many European countries are falling behind on efforts to detect life-threatening diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, a new analysis has found.
In 2018, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued new guidance on testing for HIV and hepatitis B and C in an effort to get people into treatment more quickly and prevent them from infecting others, given that it can take years for symptoms to emerge.
But in many countries, testing policies are “out of date” and “not aligned with ECDC recommendations,” according to the agency’s report, which included the 27 EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
Many European countries are falling behind on efforts to detect life-threatening diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, a new analysis has found.
More than 650,000 people have been diagnosed with HIV across the region, including nearly 25,000 in 2023. An estimated 5.4 million people have chronic hepatitis B or C.
In 26 countries with data, an estimated 92 per cent of people with HIV had actually been diagnosed – but overall, more than half of people with HIV are diagnosed late, the report found.
Related Related , they said Europe would miss its targets to fight HIV, hepatitis, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and tuberculosis (TB) without significant investments in public health.
Based on reporting by Africanews.