HIV/AIDS in Guatemala

HIV/AIDS In Guatemala

With less than 1 percent of the adult population estimated to be HIV-positive, Guatemala is considered to have a concentrated epidemic. However, Guatemala – Central America’s largest country – accounts for nearly one-sixth of Central America’s HIV-infected population. Since the country’s first case of HIV was reported in 1984, infections have occurred primarily among men who have sex with men (MSM) and sex workers. According to the National AIDS Program (NAP) in the Ministry of Health (MOH), as of April 2007, Guatemala had 10,304 officially reported cases of HIV/AIDS. UNAIDS estimates that 61,000 people are living with HIV in Guatemala and 2,700 deaths have occurred due to AIDS.

Guatemala’s HIV-infected population lives primarily in urban areas along major transportation routes. According to Guatemala’s 2007 National Epidemiological Center report, more than 77 percent of reported HIV/AIDS cases occurred in seven departments: Suchitepéquez, Guatemala, Izabal, Escuintla, Retalhuleu, San Marcos, and Quetzaltenango. The NAP estimates that 80 percent of reported HIV cases have occurred among 15- to 49-year-olds, with 20- to 34-year-olds accounting for more than 51 percent of all cases. National HIV prevalence among sex workers is 4 percent, and among street-based female sex workers prevalence is as high as 12 percent. National HIV prevalence among MSM is 10 percent, but in Guatemala City, 18 percent of MSM were HIV-positive in 2006, according to baseline data collected for a Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria project. A 2002 study published by UNAIDS in 2007 showed that infection levels among MSM in Guatemala is 10 times higher than in the adult general population. Other vulnerable populations include prison inmates, with a reported prevalence of 3.2 percent, and at-risk youth and street children, with HIV prevalence at 3.3 percent. According to the MOH, no cases of infection have been reported among injecting drug users or through blood or blood products. Available data indicate that HIV has affected mainly urban and Ladino (mixed Amerindian-Spanish peoples) populations; however, preliminary data indicate that the indigenous population (primarily Mayans) potentially could be experiencing increasing HIV infections. The data are insufficient, however, to determine the extent of the epidemic within this population.

Several risk factors contribute to Guatemala’s epidemic, including migration and tourism. While in transit, migrants may participate in high-risk sexual behavior, increasing their chances of becoming infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The Garifuna population, which shares cultural and ethnic characteristics with the Caribbean countries, is more at risk than the general population. The effects of HIV/AIDS are exacerbated by high levels of poverty and limited access to health care, particularly among rural populations.

The rate of HIV co-infection with tuberculosis (TB) is growing. The current rate of new TB infections is 34 per 100,000 people and a 2006 study cited by UNAIDS found that HIV prevalence among new TB patients in Quetzaltenango tripled from 4.2 to 12 percent between 1995 and 2002. TB is the most frequent opportunistic infection associated with HIV/AIDS in Guatemala.