HIV diagnoses on the rise in Galway

Galway City Tribune – A Galway agency has warned that the number of people diagnosed with HIV is on track to rise this year with the latest figures showing 212 people across the country were newly diagnosed in the first five months of this year.

Joe McDonagh, manager of the AIDS West based at Ozanam House in the city, said it was concerning that their message about safe sex was not being heeded by a whole new generation of young people.

According to figures collated by the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre on average 10 people per week are diagnosed with the condition in Ireland.

Last year 504 new diagnoses were recorded and similarly 503 were made in 2016. A notable jump in the figures became apparent in 2013 and 2014.

Prior to this there had been a consistent level of about 300-350 HIV diagnoses a year.

“The reality is the number of HIV diagnoses in Ireland has increased by 35% since 2011 and these figures remain of great concern to us,” he states.
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