disease - HIV diagnoses in Bavaria 2023 at highest level since 2014
In Bavaria, the number of people diagnosed with HIV reached the highest level since 2014 last year, with 645 new diagnoses reported by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The health ministry confirmed these numbers in response to a query from the Greens.
Nationwide, according to RKI data, there were approximately 3,300 HIV diagnoses in 2023. For the first time, heterosexual transmission overtook homosexual transmission in 2022 and 2023, with about 214 diagnoses in 2023 compared to 198 among men who have sex with men.
380 new infections through intravenous drug use
The RKI regularly estimates the number of new infections but has not released current figures for Bavaria. In 2021, the estimated number was around 200, with over 300 diagnoses reported during the same period. Diagnoses are less meaningful, as they depend on various factors such as testing opportunities and willingness to test. HIV infections can also occur years before being diagnosed.
An estimated 2,200 people were newly infected with HIV in Germany in 2024, according to RKI estimates, compared to 1,900 in the previous year. Once again, men who have sex with men accounted for the highest number, with approximately 1,200 new infections. Around 620 people were infected through heterosexual contact, and 380 infections occurred due to intravenous drug use.
Still insufficient knowledge about protective measures
HIV is not just a "gay problem," emphasized Green parliamentarian Florian Siekmann. "The knowledge about the various ways to protect oneself and about the rising numbers is still not really present in the heterosexual world."
The state government must counteract the widespread ignorance and, together with AIDS help organizations and HIV initiatives in Bavaria, launch visible campaigns and information that reach a broad audience. "The existing offers are clearly insufficient," said Siekmann. For example, PrEP, a pre-exposure prophylaxis that is likely to have prevented many new infections among men who have sex with men, is still largely unknown among heterosexuals.
According to data from the Kassenaerztliche Vereinigung Bayerns (KVB), 6,127 people in Bavaria were treated with PrEP in 2023 - three times as many as in 2019, when the PrEP agreement came into force. Currently, there are 45 so-called PrEP practices.
The Greens criticized that access to protection against HIV transmission through PrEP is not available everywhere - as only nine of the 45 practices are not located in major cities. Upper Franconia still has no practice.
- The RKI has not yet released the estimated number of new HIV infections in Bavaria for the current year, despite regular estimations.
- In Munich, the number of new HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with men decreased from 198 in 2023 to an estimated 620 infections due to heterosexual contact in 2024.
- Concerning drug use, the RKI reports that 380 new HIV infections in Germany occurred through intravenous drug use in 2021.
- To address the rising HIV cases in Bavaria, the state government needs to increase HIV awareness campaigns and provide more accessible PrEP practices to heterosexual communities, stated Green parliamentarian Florian Siekmann.
- The BMG (Federal Ministry of Health) should take steps to make PrEP protection available in areas beyond major cities, such as Upper Franconia, to reduce new HIV infections and promote overall health.
