This year, 21 new cases of HIV and AIDS were registered

11 new cases of HIV and AIDS patients were registered in Montenegro in 21 months of this year, said Aleksandra Marjanović from the HIV/AIDS Counseling Center at the Institute for Public Health.

Today, at the session of the Committee for Health, Labor and Social Welfare, she reminded that the first HIV patient in Montenegro was registered in 1989.

"From the beginning of the epidemic until today, 174 people with HIV or AIDS have been registered. What is important is that 87 people have a developed form of the disease, and 87 people are infected with HIV," Marjanović said at the thematic session on the disease. and added that 83 people are receiving therapy.

According to her, 41 died as a result of HIV or some other accompanying disease that occurs due to a decrease in immunity. Marjanović explained that there are six times more men than women.

She said that the problem is the carriers of the HIV virus who are not aware of this status, so, as she stated, it is assumed that there are 460 to 500 people with HIV infection in Montenegro.

"Last year we had 11 new cases, from January 1 to today we have 21 new cases, 13 are HIV-infected, in contrast to the five infections that were last year. This year we have eight AIDS cases, they were discovered late , as opposed to six cases last year," she stated.

Marjanović said that last year one person died as a result of HIV or AIDS, and this year two.

"The age of our patients ranges from 25 to 45 years. In Montenegro, the dominant mode of transmission is sexual, and 85 of all cases of HIV infection occurred through sexual contact," she said.

Marjanović said that in Podgorica, 45 percent of HIV and AIDS patients are registered, while on the coast, 35 percent are registered. She warned that Montenegro has the lowest HIV testing rate, specifying that it is 12 per thousand inhabitants.

"It is evident that a very large number of people come forward in the advanced stage of the disease, and most often these people are tested on the recommendation of a doctor. The recommendation is testing in the phase when there are no symptoms. It is necessary to work on raising the awareness of young people," said Marjanović.

She said that preventive programs on HIV and AIDS are financed by donations, stating that there is no funding from the state.

Assistant to the Minister of Health, Mira Jovanovski Dašić, said that the data show that HIV infection is present in Montenegro, but that, as she stated, it is under control.

"However, the infectious potential, and the present social factors that can influence this infection to get out of control, forces us to be careful, and they ask Montenegrin healthcare and society for even greater efforts and engagement," she said.

Jovanovski Dašić said that HIV has not stopped being a challenge in the world.

"Currently, there are 2,5 million new infections in the world during the last year, and 1,5 million people died from diseases related to HIV," she specified.

Jovanovski Dašić said that there is no cure for HIV infection yet, explaining that there is effective treatment with therapy, which can bring HIV infection and AIDS under control.

She explained the difference between HIV and AIDS, stating that a person who is a carrier of the HIV virus does not have any symptoms. "It can take 40 years to get AIDS".