Sexually-transmitted HIV infections on the rise

Infection rate fairly low among IV drug users

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A record number of Finns - 117 - have been infected with HIV this year so far. If the trend continues, the infection rate will have doubled since 2001. Nearly three out of four infections come from sexual contact.
      "This is probably only the beginning, if something is not done about it", says Mika Salminen, head of the HIV unit of the National Public Health Institute. He estimates that the total number of infections this year will reach about 170.
     
Finns who test positive for HIV are typically heterosexual men aged about 40, who have had unprotected sex during travel abroad.
      Sex tourism is a more frequent cause of HIV infection than before. The greatest sources of infections are still sexual adventures in Finland, with sex tourism in Thailand coming in second. However, the number of infections originating in Finland's neighbours is also on the increase.
      Health officials believe that the HIV epidemics in Estonia and Russia are emerging in Finland with a delay. They emphasise that HIV in the two countries is not restricted to drug users.
     
The HIV infection rate among homosexual and bisexual men has also increased. According to a study by the National Public Health Institute, 4.6 per cent of gay and bisexual men are infected with HIV - a rate of infection which is higher than that among intravenous drug users.
      The infection rate is also increasing among women. Although chlamydia infections have increased in recent years, sexually transmitted HIV infections among young people are still rare. Most of the cases have been diagnosed in the Helsinki region, as well as the provinces of East Finland and West Finland.
     
Officials are not sure of the reason for the sudden surge in the spread of HIV.
      "Risk-taking in sex appears to have increased", says Merja Saarinen of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
      Sini Pasanen of the Finnish Body Positive Association, a support group for patients who have tested positive for HIV, says that some people might feel that as they are not part of a risk group, HIV would not apply to them.
      "The epidemic in areas near Finland is not seen as a risk, and infection in Finland is also seen as unlikely. Safe sex has not been trendy enough. People are looking for more intense sexual experiences", Mika Salminen explains.


Links:
  Finnish Body Positive Association (FBPA)

Helsingin Sanomat