The upward trend noted by Public Health France in its report this Friday, October 11, does not contradict an overall downward trend in the number of discoveries.
Nearly 5,500 people discovered their HIV status in France in 2023 compared to around 5,000 in 2022. An observation drawn up by Public Health France (SPF), in a report published this Friday, October 11. A figure which can be explained in particular by the increase in the number of screenings, which had fallen in 2020 with the start of Covid. “With 7.5 million HIV serologies carried out in 2023, the increase in HIV screening activity has accelerated, half driven by the increase in use of the HIVTest system, [un] screening without prescription and free in the laboratory for socially insured people, implemented from 2022”detailed the health authority. A million additional tests were carried out in one year.
If the latest figures are on the rise, the overall trend remains downward, with a decrease in discoveries of 10% between 2012 and 2023. This decrease is more marked among homosexuals born in France, where the number of cases has decreased by 36%. A dynamic that can be explained by “a more frequent use of screening than other populations, allowing more rapid treatment of HIV-positive people, and therefore the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep) for a part of them”. However, the lack of prevention is still felt: late screenings still constitute 43% of HIV discoveries in 2023. A loss of opportunity in the rapid treatment of patients and which therefore constitutes a serious risk of transmission of HIV to partners.
If more and more tests are carried out, around 3,650 people will be infected with HIV in France in 2023. Thus the HIV incidence rate is 5.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. A rate slightly higher than in 2022 but which does not contradict the stabilization observed since 2021, specifies the authority. At the regional level, the HIV epidemic remains marked by “a particularly worrying situation in Guyana, and to a lesser extent in Mayotte, the Antilles and Ile-de-France”noted Public Health France.
Furthermore, SPF noted that in 2023, this «augmentation [avait touché] more particularly people born abroad, notably women infected through heterosexual intercourse and men who have sex with men.” While state medical aid is the subject of intense political debate, Public Health France has highlighted “the need to guarantee access to care for people born abroad and to intensify preventive actions towards them”.
