Fewer people diagnosed with HIV / AIDS in Singapore in first 10 months of 2021: MS, Health News & Top Stories

SINGAPORE – Fewer people were diagnosed with HIV / AIDS in Singapore from January to October of this year, down 10 percent from the same period last year.

It continues a downward trend from the peak of 469 people diagnosed in 2012.

The Department of Health (MOH) provided updated figures on Wednesday (December 1), in conjunction with World AIDS Day.

The drop in cases this year “could be linked to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic since early 2020,” said the Ministry of Health in its press release, without further details.

He urged people at risk of HIV infection, such as those who have casual or commercial sex, to have regular testing, as early diagnosis can facilitate early treatment and care.

Of the 119 cases reported in the first six months of this year, 93% were men. Almost half of the cases were patients aged 20 to 39, and a third were aged 40 to 59.

The main mode of transmission was sexual intercourse, accounting for 94 percent of the 119 cases, the health ministry said.

Homosexual transmission was the mode of transmission for 55% of all cases, he said, while 35% came from heterosexual transmission and 4% from bisexual transmission.

Other forms of transmission include intravenous drug use and blood transfusion, although such cases are very rare.

More than half of the newly reported cases, or 57 percent, were detected during medical care and usually in the later stages of HIV infection, the health ministry said.

About a fifth of newly reported cases were detected through self-initiated HIV testing. Since these tend to be in the early stages of HIV infection, they are more likely to offer a good prognosis for the patient, the health ministry said.

Only 15 percent of cases were detected through routine HIV testing.

In addition to facilitating early treatment, regular testing and early diagnosis also provides an opportunity for those infected to protect their partners from infection, the health ministry said.

“People with HIV who are on treatment and have an undetectable viral load have virtually no risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners.”

The health ministry added that the most effective way to prevent HIV infection is to avoid engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors such as having multiple sex partners or having commercial sex.

It also strongly recommends that individuals use condoms to reduce the risk of HIV infections and other sexually transmitted infections.

Members of the public can visit the HealthHub website for more information on HIV prevention.