HIV cases continue to fall in Switzerland

HIV/AIDS campaigns, such as this one from 2017, mean people are better informed about protecting themselves and getting treatment © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

Infections with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continued to decline in Switzerland in 2021. The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) recorded 318 cases last year, down from an average of 1,300 cases a year in the 1990s.

The 318 cases are well below the 500 mark for the fifth year in a row. This is because HIV-infected people know their situation and are receiving treatment, while people at risk protect themselves through chemoprophylaxis (taking medication to prevent disease or infection).

At the end of 2021 at least 4,000 people, mainly gay men, were taking this pre-exposure prophylaxis administered as a pill. People with a positive HIV result are treated quickly and effectively so that they no longer pass on the virus.

Last year 93% of all people living with HIV in Switzerland had been diagnosed, 96% of those diagnosed were undergoing drug therapy and 97% of those receiving treatment no longer had HIV in their blood. Switzerland has thus met the 90% targets of the World Health Organization and UNAIDS for each of the three categories since 2012.