Investigation of Aids Epidemiology in Mazandaran Province during 1986-2014

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the important pandemic diseases in different societies. Since the beginning of the epidemic, almost 71 million people have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and about 34 million people have died of HIV. Prevention as the most important method is proposed to deal with the HIV epidemic in the world. Knowledge of AIDS and its transmission routes is an essential step in prevention. This study was designed to assess the epidemiology of HIV and potential risk factors in Mazandaran province.
This descriptive cross-sectional study is related to HIV-positive patients in the Mazandaran province that their information have been reported by the Universities of Medical Sciences and Health Services from 1986 to date 2014/09/23. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test.
Totally, 347 patients with HIV/AIDS in Mazandaran province have been identified, out of which 270 patients (77.81%) were males and 77 (22.19%) were females. In the 25-34 years age group, 130 patients (37.46%) infected with HIV/AIDS that had the highest proportion among the age groups included. According to the statistics obtained, the most common transmission route of HIV was intravenous drug use in Mazandaran province (67.15%).
The results showed that the most common transmission route of HIV is intravenous drug use in Mazandaran province and that continuous training and early detection need to be considered for disease control.