Infectious diseases — Table I
Officially | Officially | Officially | TB – new and relapse cases | Estimated | Officially |
| In 2022, the state ranked 5th nationally for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Notably, improvements were observed in the rankings for primary and secondary syphilis (20th) and congenital syphilis (17th).1 | The nationwide serosurvey conducted in 2021 shows that the proportion of the population with chronic HCV infection decreased from 5.4% to 1.8%.2 | By August 12, 2024 have been registered in the Infectious Diseases, AIDS & Clinical Immunology Research Center: a total of 10772 HIV/AIDS cases, including 8069 men and 2703 women. 4985 patients developed AIDS. 2296 patients have died. The majority of patients are within the age group of 29-40.3 | The incidence of TB in Georgia in 2022 equaled 60 per 100 000 population, with HIV incidence among people with new TB diagnoses being 1.7 cases per 100 000 population.4 | In 2022, there were 16.5 incident cases per 100 000 population. Totally, there were an estimated 9779 cases of PHIV in Georgia at the end of 2022. Despite universal access to HIV services in Georgia, only 72% (n = 6050) of PHIV received ART as of 2022 [17]. Similar to global statistics, TB remains a leading cause of death among PHIV in Georgia, accounting for 21% of all deaths.5 | Georgia is a low HIV epidemic country (0.4% HIV prevalence in adult population) with HIV cases concentrated mainly among PWIDs, MSM, FSWs and their sexual partners. In 2019 the number of PLHIV was 5954 in Georgia. 6 |
HIV situation
In 2019, Georgia reported a low HIV prevalence of 0.4%, with the highest rates among people who inject drugs (PWID), men who have sex with men (MSM), and female sex workers (FSWs). While HIV rates among PWID and FSWs remained stable, the HIV prevalence among MSM continued to be high.
The country made significant progress through the expansion of the PrEP program and increased state funding for HIV treatment. By 2019, the HIV program was largely focused on achieving global targets and ensuring the long-term sustainability of services without excessive reliance on international funding.
By 2023, HIV prevalence among MSM in Georgia had decreased to just over 15%, still 26 times higher than in the general population. Advocacy efforts led to political progress, with the government prioritizing HIV prevention among key populations and their sexual partners. HIV testing services are also provided free of charge for everyone. In 2017, Georgia became the first country in Eastern Europe and Central Asia to introduce pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for MSM and transgender people.
