health
About 3,000 people in Serbia are treated and live with HIV
In Serbia today, almost 3,000 people are being treated for HIV infection, while an estimated 1,000 people still do not know they are living with this virus, which remains one of the key public health challenges.
TL;DR
- Approximately 3,000 people in Serbia are currently receiving treatment for HIV.
- An estimated 1,000 people in Serbia are living with HIV but are unaware of their status.
- Modern therapy has transformed HIV into a manageable chronic condition, enabling long and high-quality lives.
- When HIV treatment is successful and the virus is undetectable, it cannot be transmitted sexually (U=U principle).
- Key challenges include increasing access to testing, introducing self-testing, enhancing prevention methods like PrEP, and combating stigma.
- Free and anonymous testing for HIV, syphilis, and viral hepatitis B and C is available at specific centers and public health institutions.
- Late diagnosis remains a significant issue, with nearly half of patients diagnosed in advanced stages of immunodeficiency.
- Advances in prevention include the availability of PrEP and PEP, as well as long-acting therapies.
- While a universal cure for HIV does not yet exist, research in gene therapy and immunotherapy offers optimism.
- In 2025, 120 new HIV infections were diagnosed in Serbia, with 24 AIDS diagnoses and seven deaths from AIDS.