HIV infections in Catalonia increase in 2022, but down by a third over 5 years

HIV infections in Catalonia increased in 2022 with 460 new cases, resulting in a rate of 5.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The previous year, according to health department data, 431 were registered, with a rate of 5.6.

Despite the slight increase, the five-year trend is moving downward, as new diagnoses have fallen by more than a third (37%) since 2017, when there were 727 cases. 

The most common mode of transmission is sexual, with 57.7% of new diagnoses last year occurring in men who have had sex with other men.  

With the new cases of 2022, it is estimated that 32,579 people are living with HIV in Catalonia and that the average age of those infected is 37 years.

The profile of people with the virus has not changed significantly over the years: in the last decade, it has always occurred mainly in men, between 80% and 90% of the total – the figure during 2022 was 83.5% – and the majority transmission route continues to be male sex with other men. 

According to data from 2021 obtained by the Catalan News Agency (ACN) through a freedom of information request, the diagnosis rate is higher in Barcelona than in other health regions.

Most of those infected with HIV are foreigners 

Over the last decade, the nationality of those infected has changed.

Until 2016, most of the new diagnoses were of people with Spanish nationality, but since 2017 it is no longer the case since more than half are now foreigners.   

The most recent data obtained by ACN is from 2021, when 57% of the 431 cases were from people outside Spain. 

1-year HIV prevention pill waiting list 

Since its introduction into the public service system at the end of 2019, the use of the HIV prevention pill, PrEP, has steadily increased.  

According to the health department, in 2022, 9,000 people received the pill in Catalonia alone, representing half of the national distribution in Spain. 

A significant proportion of recipients sought this preventive measure at the BCN Checkpoint community center, which dispenses the pill and monitors 3,000 users.  

Demand has skyrocketed in a year, resulting in a long waiting list. At BCN Checkpoint alone, 3,000 people are on the waiting list, with an expected wait of 12 to 14 months. 
 
This compares to 500 people on the waiting list the previous year, with a six-month wait.  

Across all 21 centers in Catalonia, there were a total of 2,400 people on the waiting list.

Catalan health minister Manel Bacells said the PrEP waiting list was "too long" and that the hoped to reduce it again to six months in 2024.