Incidence of HIV Related To Injection Drug Use In Ireland

"Voluntary linked testing for antibodies to HIV has been available in Ireland since 1985. According to the most recent report of the HPSC, at the end of 2011 there were 6,287 diagnosed HIV cases in Ireland, of which 1,485 (24%) were probably infected through injecting drug use (O'Hora and O'Donnell 2011). Figure 6.2.1.1 presents the number of new cases of HIV among injecting drug users reported in Ireland, by year of diagnosis; data from 1982 to 1985 are excluded as these four years were combined in the source records. There was a fall in the number of HIV cases among injecting drug users between 1994 and 1998, with about 20 cases per year, compared to about 50 cases each year in the preceding years. There was a sharp increase in the number of cases in 1999 (69 new cases), which continued into 2000 (83 new cases). Between 2001 and 2010 there was an overall decline in the number of new injector cases when compared to 2000.
"Of the 16 new HIV cases reported in 2011, 13 were male and three were female, and the median age among intravenous drug users (IDUs) was 37 years (range 22–48 years). Eight cases (36.4%) were born in Ireland and another three (36.4%) in central and eastern Europe and two in Africa. Nine new cases were Irish, eight cases were not Irish and five cases had no country of origin recorded. At the time of HIV diagnosis in 2011, 85% of IDUs for whom CD4 count was reported were classified as diagnosed late (CD4 count <350 cells/mm3), three had AIDS and two had an acute HIV infection."