South Africa has world's highest HIV prevalence

South Africa had an estimated 6. 4 million people living with HIV/AIDS in 2012, the highest prevalence in the world, according a survey released on Tuesday. With over 400,000 new HIV infections occurring in 2012, South Africa ranks first in HIV incidence in the world, the survey finds. The estimated overall prevalence of HIV increased from 10.6 percent in 2008 to 12.2 percent in 2012, according to the South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence and Behavior Survey 2012. The survey was officially launched by Minister of Science and Technology Derek Hanekom and Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi at a video conference in Cape Town. HIV prevalence in the 15-49 year age group was 18.8 percent, but was significantly higher in females (23.2 percent) than in males (14.5 percent), says the survey. The HIV incidence rates among women are of particular concern. The HIV incidence rate among female youth aged 15-24 years was over four times higher than for males in this age group (2.5 percent vs. 0.6 percent). With a HIV incidence rate of 4.5 percent, black African females aged 20-34 years had the highest incidence of HIV among the analyzed population groups. A noteworthy observation was the slight decline of HIV prevalence among youth aged 15-24 years from 8.7 percent in 2008 to 7.3 percent in 2012. The increased prevalence of HIV in 2012 is largely due to the combined effects of new infections and a successfully expanded antiretroviral treatment (ART) program, shows the survey. The availability and use of ART has increased survival among HIV-infected individuals, according to the survey. As a result of the country's successful Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program, HIV infection levels also further decreased in infants 12 months and younger, from two percent in 2008 to 1.3 percent in 2012. Another key finding of the survey was that over 2 million people were on ART by mid-2012, suggesting that the country is on its way towards universal access to treatment. South Africa is currently implementing the largest antiretroviral treatment program in the world. The significant increase of ART exposure in the country has had a major impact on the survival of people living with HIV. "I am pleased to see that more people with HIV are living longer, because of the hugely expanded treatment program launched by the Government," said Principal Investigator Olive Shisana, CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), which conducted the survey. "The disproportionately high HIV prevalence levels among females in the country, and high HIV prevalence in unmarried cohabiting people however, require a rethinking of conventional approaches of HIV prevention towards strategies that address the underlying socio-cultural norms in the affected communities," Shisana said. Another concerning finding is that the majority of the respondents aged 15 years and older (76.5 percent) believed that they were at low risk of acquiring HIV infection. Unfortunately, approximately one in 10 who believed they were at low risk for acquiring HIV infection was already infected but didn't know it. Furthermore, the overall knowledge about how HIV is transmitted and prevented also declined from 30.3 percent in 2008 compared to 26.8 percent in 2012. Attitudes of South Africans towards Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV), however, have improved considerably since 2008. This could partly be the result of the wider availability of ART in the country, as well as the fact that many people have been tested and know their HIV status. The findings of the report underscores that while the country is on the right track with the provision of ART, national HIV counselling and testing (HCT) efforts, and greater access of PMTCT, more other biomedical, behavioral, social, and structural prevention interventions are needed to reduce the high rates of new HIV infections, the HSRC said.