Based on January 1 figures, all in all, there are 2,060 people with HIV in Lithuania, most of them – 1,687 – male, five and a half times more than HIV-positive women (373).
According to the Center for Communicable Diseases and AIDS, 62 persons, or 38.7 percent, contracted the virus through the use of unsafe needles. 46 people got HIV through heterosexual intercourse and 11 through homosexual intercourse. It has not been established how the remaining 41 individuals, or 25.6 percent, contracted the virus.
The biggest number of new HIV cases was registered in the age group of 25-29.
In 2012, 8.7 percent of HIV cases were diagnosed in the AIDS stage, compared to 4.8 percent a year before. All in all, 38 people were diagnosed with AIDS, up from 17 in 2011. Half of all AIDS cases in 2012 were drug addicts. 28 AIDS patients died last year, up by 10 people as compared to 2011.