Epidemiologists in Russia have reported a generalised HIV epidemic across 27 regions, where the virus has spread beyond traditional risk groups into the general population. According to the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, HIV is now diagnosed in more than 1% of pregnant women in these affected territories, with the situation being most serious in the Kemerovo, Irkutsk and Sverdlovsk regions.
While 45,000 new HIV cases were detected in Russia in 2025—representing a 13.4% decrease from 2024—the country simultaneously recorded a 15-year high for HIV and hepatitis infections within medical institutions. Specialist portal Medvestnik reported eight clusters of infection in healthcare facilities during 2025 involving 104 patients, while investigations continued in 2026 into 11 further clusters across ten regions, including a Moscow cluster with 22 viral hepatitis C cases.
Yelena Igonina, head of the Department for the Epidemiological Wellbeing of the Population at Rospotrebnadzor, attributed these incidents to entrenched systemic and gross violations of sanitary and epidemiological rules. Experts noted that single-use catheters or glucometers have been reused on multiple patients, while international HIV consultant Aleksei Verter told Current Time that such hospital-acquired cases indicate a latent, hidden infectious process where many people remain unaware of their infections.
Official statistics show that more than 1.232 million people with a confirmed HIV diagnosis now live in Russia, accounting for 0.8% of the population. Vasily Akimkin, director of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, stated that Russia, alongside Ukraine and North Macedonia, records the highest HIV incidence rates per 100,000 population in the European region, with HIV now serving as the leading cause of death among working-age Russians.
Rospotrebnadzor has warned that without changes to prevention and treatment approaches, the number of people living with HIV in Russia could reach 1.47 million by 2030, with annual new cases between 31,000 and 51,000. Experts also highlight declining prevention funding following the departure of international donors, and budgetary constraints that observers link to war spending, leaving draft budget allocations for 2027 sufficient for only 30,000 new carriers despite 45,000 cases being detected in 2025.
Source: Euronews. Read the original report ↗