AIDS Epidemiological Pattern Shifts Toward Sex in Iran

In a press conference held on Wednesday, Ali-Akbar Sayyari said the number of AIDS transmission cases caused by sex has doubled mainly due to a lack of transparency, IRNA reported.

Here are some highlights of his remarks:

• About a decade ago, 15 percent of AIDS transmission cases occurred through sex but the figure has now increased to 30 percent.
• The pattern of sexual AIDS transmission is on the rise and to control it, transparent communication with the public is required.
• The first wave of AIDS transmission came through syringes shared among addicts, which was controlled by the distribution of free syringes and methadone among them and in prisons.
• Today’s serious problem is the sexual transmission of HIV through sex that has doubled during the past decade but it is not limited to Iran and is common around the world.
• The reason AIDS transmission control has not been successful is that we cannot discuss all the issues in a transparent way with the people. For instance, we cannot speak openly about condom use.
• AIDS control has three key words: self-restraint, family formation, and if not possible, availability of contraceptive means for all the people.
• New centers are launched in the healthcare network to examine prostitutes in order to protect them against diseases transmissible through sexual contact such as hepatitis, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
• In these centers, the prostitutes will receive training to prevent STDs after examinations and contraceptives will be given to them free of charge.
• At the DICs, the homeless will be offered various services. Wherever we find them, various services including a full breakfast and a shower as well as syringes, drugs, if needed, and in some places methadone to change injective addiction into oral consumption will be offered.
• If we cannot eliminate addiction, we should at least alleviate it and try to transform injective addiction into oral consumption, so to eliminate the risk of AIDS and STDs.
• In the Islamic Republic, we have had a successful experience in controlling AIDS in the prisons and there are five thousand general practitioners offering addiction treatment services including methadone therapy at the moment.
• The first HIV positive case in Iran was a young girl who contracted the disease in 1987 due to the use of factor VIII.

According to a UN AIDS 2015 report, 73 thousand individuals are currently living with HIV in Iran, among them 25 thousand women aged 15 and over. Although the prevalence of HIV among the general population in Iran remains low, it stands at 13.8 per cent among injecting drug users. This concentrated epidemic could evolve into a “generalized epidemic” if neglected and not properly addressed by effective counter-measures. Approximately four thousand people die of AIDS each year. According to UN AIDS, some of the main challenges for HIV control in Iran include social taboos, the growing young population, shifting of the epidemiological pattern, infrastructural and administrative limitations, inadequate coverage of HIV care and treatment and lack of information on the virus which is in part caused by the sanctions imposed on the country.