Number of people affected by HIV registered at the Infectious Diseases Clinic of Kosovo from January until now is 10 new cases, but there is information that there are other new cases. 

This has been revealed by the head of the HIV department at the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo (QKUK), Murat Mehmeti, who said that this number is expected to increase continuously. 

In a statement for the local media, Mehmeti said that according to the information received from the National Institute of Public Health, the number of cases affected by HIV is greater than has been recorded. 

"As for the cases registered in our clinic, up to these moments when we are talking, we have registered 10 new cases, from January until now. Although I have information, there are other new cases that are expected to come. Meanwhile, according to the information I have from the National Institute of Public Health, the number of cases is greater than what we have in our records, because in the Infectious Disease Clinic there are cases when they decide to be treated or receive therapy from our clinic. However, it always happens that there are cases which, even after being identified as HIV positive, for one reason or another may not come to continue the treatment at the Infectious Disease Clinic", said Murati. 

Mehmeti emphasized that currently a patient affected by HIV is admitted to the Infectious Disease Clinic, who is receiving medical treatment, adding that homosexuals are the community most affected by this virus. 

"Yes, we currently have a case which is feigned in our clinic, due to the more serious condition he has...Really compared to the past years, or rather in the last three or four years we have trend of increasing the number of new cases and this trend is increasing... As for the causes of the increase, the fact that most of the new cases that we have recorded in recent years mainly belong to the young age and mainly belong to the homosexual community, this is due to the fact that the possibility of carrying the infection is much greater among homosexuals than among heterosexuals", emphasized Murati. 

Meanwhile, Murati added that the ages most affected by HIV are those between 20 and 25 years old and that they mainly belong to the male gender. 

"The main average age which is in our evidence, especially in recent years, is mainly the age of 20 to 25 years and they mainly belong to the male gender. We are currently doing well, as far as the supply of drugs is concerned, and in general I can say that in recent years, it is not that we have had any problems... this ward, which treats patients with sexually transmitted diseases as well as other diseases, is a apart from cases treated with HIV, it is a ward that also treats other cases, and since we have an increase in the number of cases with HIV, we have a lack of middle management, this is the main problem, not only for us but also for Infectious Diseases Clinic", said Murati. 

The director of the "Labyrinth" Psychiatric Specialist Center, Safet Blakaj, said that drug users, same-sex intimate relationships and other factors are influencing the increase in HIV cases. 

"According to the information of the Institute of Public Health, it is the last two or three years, especially last year, that the HIV infection is growing rapidly. Otherwise, Kosovo has had a very low prevalence of HIV in Kosovo. there are some categories of the population that are at high risk, what are drug users, men who have sex with men, women who have commercial sex... Here it has been seen that there is a problem even in the general population, I think that the number has increased very quickly... It's a kind of alarm," said Blakaj. 

HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system, the body's shield against bacteria and viruses with which it is constantly in contact. Symptoms of HIV are fever, headache, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat and rash. HIV can only be transmitted from person to person through bodily fluids, such as blood, semen, and vaginal fluid. 

HIV is the condition that leads to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS is considered the final stage of HIV, also known as HIV stage 3. With treatment, most people who have HIV are unlikely to develop AIDS. 

According to the World Health Organization, since the beginning of the epidemic, over 85 million people have been infected with the HIV virus, while about 40 million infected have died from HIV.