At least 27 regions of the Russian Federation are reportedly experiencing a generalized stage of the HIV epidemic. According to specialists from Rospotrebnadzor, more than 1 percent of pregnant women in these constituent entities are testing positive for the virus. The most severe situation is allegedly recorded in the Kemerovo, Irkutsk, and Sverdlovsk regions. This information was published by Nezavisimaya Gazeta, citing data from Vasily Akimkin, director of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology under Rospotrebnadzor.
Experts explain that a generalized epidemic phase means the infection is no longer confined to specific high-risk groups but is actively spreading among the general population. Natalya Ladnaya, a leading researcher at the institute's AIDS prevention and control department, claims that despite a reported decrease in new cases, the overall problem associated with HIV is not easing. Specifically, authorities registered 45,000 new HIV cases in Russia throughout 2025.
Meanwhile, as Nezavisimaya Gazeta points out, the Russian draft budget for 2027 allocates additional funding for medications designed to cover an estimated 30,000 newly diagnosed individuals. Ladnaya reportedly stated that annual deaths among people living with HIV in Russia range between 30,000 and 34,000, figures that industry observers consider to be excessively high. Furthermore, the effectiveness of viral suppression remains alarmingly low.
According to Ladnaya's figures, by the end of 2025, only half of all people living with HIV in Russia had achieved viral load suppression. Among those actively receiving treatment, the indicator stood at 77.9 percent, whereas the international benchmark target is set at a minimum of 95 percent. Compounding these challenges, new transmission incidents have been uncovered inside medical facilities themselves.
Elena Igonina, head of the population epidemiological wellbeing department at Rospotrebnadzor, revealed that eight separate outbreak clusters involving the transmission of HIV and hepatitis during medical care were identified in 2025. This is purportedly the highest figure recorded over the past 15 years. A total of 104 patients contracted infections across these outbreaks, with officials attributing the failures primarily to severe violations of sanitary and epidemiological regulations, such as reusing individual catheters or blood glucose meters on multiple patients.
Source: kun.uz