Marjeta Dervishi1, Roland Bani1,3, Redona Dudushi1, Shpëtim Qyra1 , Esmeralda Meta2, Silva Bino1,3
1Institute of Public Health, Tirana, Albania;
2University Medical Center “Mother Teresa”, Tirana, Albania;
3Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania.
Background: Albania continues to have a low HIV-prevalence epidemic. At the end of December 2019, a total of 1306 HIV cases had been reported, however, the number of reported new HIV cases has been increasing in recent years. The number of HIV positive children was reported 45, and 36 out of them have contracted HIV from their infected mothers. The efforts to establish the PMTCT Program in Albania has started in recent years but it was only in 2019 that we put in place the Standards of PMTCT (Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission) at antenatal care level.
Methods: This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of HIV among pregnant women in Albania during the year 2019, and to describe HIV testing coverage and the uptake of antenatal care (ANC). Data on HIV testing among pregnant women were collected from reports to the National Aids Program but some of the pregnant women had conducted the HIV test at private clinics (the data of HIV testing from private clinics are missing), this number can be somewhat higher. Every reactive or positive test was delivered to IPH to be confirmed with WB test.
Results: In 2019, the number of pregnant women aged 15-49 years who received an HIV test at antenatal delivery services in Albania was only 3% (1194) out of the total number of reported HIV tests done. Out of 1194 women tested for HIV during pregnancy, HIV was reported for 0.17% (2 cases) and apart of those, one other pregnant woman was reported as an HIV positive case in 2017. The three cases were respectively reported in Vlora, Pogradec and Elbasan. HIV testing coverage among pregnant women was higher in Lezha, Gjirokastër, Vlora and Korça districts.
Conclusions: The HIV prevalence among children infected through vertical transmission in Albania is less than 3% and the coverage of ANC is very low (less than 4% of pregnant women received an HIV test in 2019). However, gaps in HIV testing and ANC challenge the prevention of the vertical transmission of HIV in Albania. More efforts are needed to address the implementation of PMTCT program at a national level involving all districts in the country.
Keywords: Albania, HIV, pregnancy, prevalence.