Epidemiology and the Changing Face of HIV Infection in Qatar

Background The aim of the study was to study the demographics, modes of transmission, clinical features, and outcome of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Qatar and the change in epidemiology over time before and after 2000. Method Review of the records of all cases of HIV infection diagnosed in Qatar between 1984 and October 2014 was conducted. Results During the study period, 306 cases of HIV infection were diagnosed in Qatar. Files were available for review for only 148 patients. Males were more than females with a ratio of 2.5:1. The male to female ratio in those diagnosed after 2000 (group 2) was significantly more than in those diagnosed before 2000 (group 1). Almost half of the cases were Qatari. The most common mode of transmission was sexual (72%); however, in a significant proportion (43%) of those in group 1, the mode of transmission was blood transfusion. Fifty-four percent of patients had a late presentation with an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome defining condition or with CD+4 less than 350 cells/mm3. The mean CD+4 cell count at presentation was 359 cells/mm3, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. Evidence of previous infection with hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, syphilis, and toxoplasmosis was low (10%, 4%, 2.5%, and 11%, respectively); however, the difference between the two groups was significant only for HCV infection. One hundred four patients (70%) are still alive despite some of them were diagnosed early in HIV epidemic. Conclusions Qatar remains a low prevalence country for HIV infection. The disease affects mainly young male adults with many of them presenting late in the disease. The epidemiology of HIV infection in Qatar has changed over time with infection being mostly sexually transmitted in later years. More non-Qataris are being diagnosed compared with earlier years, and this reflects the change in population that occurred in Qatar in recent years. More efforts are needed to educate the public especially the young in prevention measures and to improve early diagnosis. Correspondence to: Hussam Al Soub, MD, CABM, FACP, Hamad Medical Corporation, PO Box 3050, Doha, Qatar. E-mail: hussamalsoub@yahoo.com. The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose. Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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