Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 27:10:20503121221113938.
doi: 10.1177/20503121221113938. eCollection 2022.

Evolving epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in Campania region, 2011-2018: Is HIV/AIDS population in Campania different?

Affiliations

Evolving epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in Campania region, 2011-2018: Is HIV/AIDS population in Campania different?

Francesco Maria Fusco et al. SAGE Open Med. .

Abstract

Objectives: Data on HIV/AIDS cases in Italy are collected using a standardised form. Regional epidemiology may vary. We described the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of newly diagnosed persons with HIV in the 'Cotugno' hospital in Naples during 2011-2018 and compared them with national data to identify similarities and differences.

Methods: Data source for the Campania region is the data collection forms sent to the national surveillance system. The data source for the national data is from the periodic annual bulletins on HIV/AIDS published by the National Institute of Health.

Results: In all, 1149 persons with HIV were diagnosed in 'Cotugno' (69.7% of those diagnosed in Campania). Persons with HIV in Campania showed many similarities with the Italian population: men were in the majority in both groups (about 75%), foreign origin was about 30%, heterosexuals were the most represented risk group, followed by men who have sex with men and injecting drug use in both samples. Some notable differences are also present. Among the risk factors for HIV acquisition, injecting drug use is significantly more common in Campania. Among the reasons for testing, significant differences are evident for almost all reasons, with screening activities (testing for concurrent diseases, for diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases, screening in hospital during maternity care and screening in drug-addition services or prisons) being more common at the national level. The Campania population has a more severe disease pattern, with a significantly higher proportion of patients diagnosed with less than 200 CD4 cells/µL and AIDS. For each variable, we compared trends in the Campania region and in Italy using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Almost all trends show a weak correlation.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the prevalence of injecting drug use is still consistent, and requires specific campaigns. The reasons for testing are different: screening activities work less in Campania than in Italy. This untimely approach contributes to a more severe clinical picture in Campania.

Keywords: HIV testing; HIV/AIDS epidemiology; injective drug users; time trends.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. Regine V, Pugliese L, Suligoi B, et al.. Le sorveglianze HIV regionali in Italia: la base per il futuro sistema nazionale [Regional HIV Surveillance in Italy: a starting point for the future national system]. Epidemiol Prev 2018; 42(3–4): 235–242 (in Italian). - PubMed
    1. ISS Epicentro. NotiziarioIss-Coa, https://www.epicentro.iss.It/aids/notiziario-coa; https://www.epicentro.iss.it/aids/notiziario-coa (accessed 4 May 2021).
    1. Fusco FM, Menna A, Galano A, et al.. Evolving epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in Campania Region, 2008–2019: is HIV/AIDS population in Campania different? In: 12th ICAR congress (Digital edition), Napoli, 12–16 October 2020.
    1. Camoni L, Raimondo M, Regine V, et al.. Late presenters among persons with a new HIV diagnosis in Italy, 2010-2011. BMC Public Health 2013; 13: 281. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Facciolà A, Visalli G, Antonuccio G, et al.. Epidemiology of the new HIV infections in a large university hospital of Southern Italy: the importance of increasing the culture of the HIV screening test in the prevention of late diagnosis. Epidemiol Prev 2020; 44(4): 235–242. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources