Public Health Bulletin on HIV and STIs in Guadeloupe. December 2021.

Published on 2 December 2021

Key points

Participation in the LaboVIH survey is essential for the production of reliable surveillance indicators. In 2020, due to the health crisis, participation was far too low in Guadeloupe and other regions, making it impossible to estimate HIV testing activity and laboratory positivity rates; estimates of new HIV diagnoses for Guadeloupe and Saint Martin were also not possible for 2020;
Heterosexual intercourse remains the primary mode of transmission, with the proportion increasing further in 2020 compared to previous years; notably, there was a significant increase in the proportion of women living with HIV in 2020 (40%) compared to previous years (34%);
In 2020, nearly half of HIV infections were detected at an advanced stage of the infection, which represents a missed opportunity in terms of individual care and a risk of HIV transmission to partners before the start of antiretroviral treatment.
Electronic reporting improves the completeness and timeliness of case reports. In Guadeloupe and Saint Martin, the proportion of online reports was 100% in 2020

In 2020, regardless of the STI, a decline in screening rates (for both men and women) in the private sector was observed in Guadeloupe that was greater than the national level (-14% versus -6%).
Syphilis: 85.3 per 1,000 inhabitants, a rate higher than that observed in France (44.2)
Chlamydia trachomatis infections: 76.3 per 1,000 inhabitants, a rate higher than that observed in France (42.4)
Chlamydia trachomatis diagnoses: 343 per 100,000 inhabitants, a rate higher than that observed in France (225)
Gonococcal infections: 66.6 per 1,000 inhabitants, a rate higher than that observed in France (38.9)

In 2020, regardless of the STI, a decline in testing was observed at a higher rate in CeGIDDs than in the private sector (-17% versus -6%) and lower than the average for all CeGIDDs in France (-30%)
Gonococcal infections: positivity rate of 4.3% (compared to 3.2% in 2019 and 3.9% in France in 2020)
Syphilis: positivity rate of 0.5% (compared to 0.3% in 2019 and 1.4% in France in 2020)
Chlamydia trachomatis infections: positivity rate of 15.5% (compared to 13.6% in 2019 and 7% in France in 2020)