Number of new HIV infections in Netherlands hasn't declined in five years

Last year, 444 people in the Netherlands were diagnosed with HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS. Almost 20 years ago, there had been around 1,200 new cases per year. But after many years of decline, the number of new infections has remained relatively stable since 2020.

The HIV Monitoring Foundation (SHM) of Amsterdam UMC fears that the number of new infections will start increasing again in the coming years. Marc van der Valk, an infectious disease specialist at the university hospital and director of the foundation, spoke of worrying developments. He believes the trend can still be reversed, including through improved HIV testing. He also advocates for better access to care and ways to prevent HIV infection.

People who contract HIV usually don’t experience their first health problems until years later. The foundation estimates that at the end of last year, 1,610 people in the Netherlands were unknowingly living with HIV. A year earlier, that number was 1,545. These people are not receiving treatment and can unintentionally transmit the virus to others.

Some of the new HIV patients were likely infected only recently. Their HIV test was negative a year before their diagnosis. 42 percent of the recent infections involved men who have sex with men. Their share has increased slightly. In 2020, it was around 35 percent. According to Van der Valk, the fact that the infection is detected so early is a positive development. “It shows that people are getting tested more often,” he said.

New HIV cases among men who have sex with men mainly occurred in people born in the 1980s and 1990s. The number of new diagnoses is declining among older men who have sex with men.

The Aidsfonds - Soa Aids Nederland wants the government to invest more in ways to prevent people from contracting HIV. “If we don’t invest in prevention now, such as making the HIV prevention pill PrEP more accessible, the number of diagnoses will likely increase. This means more people with HIV and higher healthcare costs for society,” Aidsfonds - Soa Aids Nederland director Mark Vermeulen said in a statement.

According to the fund, not everyone who has an increased risk of HIV takes the prevention pill. The fund attributes this to long waiting lists, high costs, and insufficient information.

Vermeulen wants vulnerable people to be better informed about the ways they could contract HIV, because he believes some people underestimate the risk. He also believes that STI testing should be made more readily available.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gradually breaks down the immune system. Over time, the body is no longer able to protect itself against viruses and bacteria, and that is when AIDS develops. The virus spreads through blood, among other things. This can happen during sexual contact, but also through contaminated needles and, in the past, through blood transfusions.

Since the 1980s, an estimated 40 million people worldwide have died from AIDS. Thanks to effective medication, HIV has changed from a fatal disease to a chronic condition in Western countries. People can live a relatively healthy life with HIV.