Russia Urges HIV Testing for One-Third of Population as Cases Rise

Authored by themoscowtimes.com and submitted by neonpurplestar
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Russia should test roughly one-third of its population for HIV each year to curb the spread of the virus, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said Friday, as official data show infections continuing to rise.

Murashko, speaking at a ministry meeting, said expanding screening coverage was essential to reducing transmission of the virus that causes AIDS.

“Further expansion of medical testing is necessary. Every third citizen should be tested, with particular attention to at-risk groups,” the Health Ministry’s press service quoted him as saying.

The push for broader testing comes as Russia faces one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Europe, with infections continuing to climb despite record screening levels.

According to state consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, more than 54 million people — about 37% of the population — were tested for HIV in 2024, the highest level in at least a decade.

That figure was 7% higher than in 2023 and nearly double the 28.3 million tests conducted in 2014.

Investigaator_188 on April 19th, 2026 at 03:23 UTC »

thankfully there are meds to manage being HIV positive and heroin to manage being a Russian.

RealisticForYou on April 19th, 2026 at 01:29 UTC »

Needle sharing....

There are cities in the U.S. who distribute fresh needles to homeless drug addicts on the streets...this is the reason right here. Sharing needles is a for sure way to spread disease. And as a place like Moscow becomes more poverty stricken, I wonder if sharing needles is much of the problem.

Broad-Performance-38 on April 19th, 2026 at 00:57 UTC »

When they said they were upset about all the aids Ukraine was getting, I don't think this is what they meant...