The trend of the HIV infection epidemic during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Тajikistan

The aim. Analysis of the features of the development trend of the HIV epidemic process during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Tajikistan. Materials and methods. The data on the prevalence and incidence of HIV infection among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic were retrospectively analyzed based on data from the Republican Center for the Prevention and Control of AIDS of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan. Results and discussion. An analysis of the epidemic process during the development of HIV infection in the Republic of Tajikistan shows that the country still has a high risk of infection both among the most vulnerable cohorts of people and among the general population. During the period 2018–2019 (before the development of the COVID-19 pandemic), the largest number of new cases of HIV infection among the general population was detected. The epidemic process, starting in 2018, has tended to gradually decrease the incidence and mortality rates of HIV infection among the general population. In 2018, 1,421 new cases of HIV infection were detected. By the end of 2023, this figure was 1,100 cases, that is, it decreased by 1.3 times. In 2020, 1,095 HIV cases were identified, which is 20.5% lower than in 2019 (n=1,320), i.e. before the pandemic. In addition, the coverage of the population with HIV testing was 805,120 people, which is 1.3 times less (n=1,062,509) in 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of coronavirus among HIV-infected people was 0.31% of the total number of this cohort of patients. Conclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic, despite a slight decrease in the incidence of HIV infection, did not have a significant impact on the development of the HIV epidemic in the country. This trend is, in particular, associated with a decrease in the volume of HIV testing and with restrictive measures introduced in the country due to the worsening epidemiological situation with COVID-19.