New HIV-positive cases and AIDS diagnoses - France, 2018

Key points

• In France, nearly 6,200 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2018, of whom 56% were infected through heterosexual intercourse, 40% through sex between men, and 2% through injection drug use.

• The total number of new HIV diagnoses decreased significantly between 2017 and 2018 (-7%), following several years of stability. This very recent decline will need to be confirmed with the benefit of an additional year’s data.

• From 2013 to 2018, the number of new HIV diagnoses decreased significantly among people born in France, both among men who have sex with men (MSM) and among men and women infected through heterosexual intercourse. The decline also applies to heterosexual men born abroad. These decreases may reflect a reduction in the number of people living with HIV who have not yet been diagnosed, linked to the expansion and diversification of testing, and/or a decline in incidence over the past several years. This decline in incidence could be explained primarily by the TASP (“Treatment as Prevention”) effect and, more recently for MSM, by the impact of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).

• Over the same period, the number of new HIV diagnoses remained stable among foreign-born heterosexual women and increased among foreign-born MSM, likely for different reasons. It is therefore necessary to pay particular attention to these populations.