Características epidemiológicas de las nuevas infecciones causadas por el VIH comparadas con los casos de sida: La epidemia de VIH/ sida en el País Vasco

objective: to describe the epidemiological characteristics of new cases of hiv infection diagnosed from 1997-2001 and compare them with aids cases (1991-2001). methods: data were retrospectively collected on new cases of hiv infection detectad in the basque country (1997-2001) and were compared with aids cases (1991-2001). results: a total of 912 new cases of hiv infection were diagnosed. in 299 of the new cases (32.8%), hiv and aids were diagnosed simultaneously. the most common mechanism of transmission was heterosexual transmission, followed by intravenous and homo/bisexual transmission. significant epidemiological differences (p<0.001) were found with regard to aids cases. conclusions: sexual transmission has replaced intravenous drug use as the most common mechanism of hiv transmission. a large percentage of patients were simultaneously diagnosed with hiv and aids, indicating the need for new prevention strategies.