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SDG 3: HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Background

Recent migration trends have shown a notable entry of Latin American asylum seekers to Madrid, Spain.

Aim

To characterise the profile of asylum-seeking Latin American migrants who are living with HIV in Spain and to outline the barriers they face in accessing HIV treatment.

Methods

A prospective cohort study was conducted between 2022 and 2023 with a 6-month follow-up period. Latin American asylum seekers living with HIV were recruited mainly from non-governmental organisations and received care at an HIV clinic in a public hospital in Madrid.

Results

We included 631 asylum seekers. The primary countries of origin were Colombia (30%), Venezuela (30%) and Peru (18%). The median age was 32 years (interquartile range (IQR): 28–37), and 553 (88%) were cis men of which 94% were men who have sex with men. Upon their arrival, 49% (n = 309) lacked social support, and 74% (n = 464) faced barriers when attempting to access the healthcare system. Upon entry in Europe, 500 (77%) participants were taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). At their first evaluation at the HIV clinic, only 386 (61%) had continued taking ART and 33% (n = 209) had detectable plasma HIV-1 RNA levels. Six months later, 99% took ART and 98% had achieved an undetectable viral load.

Conclusions

Latin American asylum seekers living with HIV in Madrid, Spain encountered barriers to healthcare and to ART. One-third of these individuals presented detectable HIV viral load when assessed in the HIV clinic, highlighting this as an important public health issue.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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2024-07-18
2024-12-22
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HIV-infected Latin American asylum seekers in Madrid, Spain, 2022: A prospective cohort study from a major gateway in Europe
<p class="citation"> <span>Citation style for this article:</span> <span class="meta-value authors"> <a href="/search?value1=Pablo+Ryan&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Ryan Pablo</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Samuel+Manzano&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Manzano Samuel</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Neda+Deihim-Rahampour&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Deihim-Rahampour Neda</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Guillermo+Cuevas&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Cuevas Guillermo</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Laura+Martin-Gonzalez&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Martin-Gonzalez Laura</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Alicia+Gonzalez-Baeza&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Gonzalez-Baeza Alicia</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Pedro+Torres&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Torres Pedro</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Jeffrey+V+Lazarus&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Lazarus Jeffrey V</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Juan+Torres-Macho&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Torres-Macho Juan</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Jorge+Valencia&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Valencia Jorge</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Matilde+Sanchez-Conde&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Sanchez-Conde Matilde</a></span>. HIV-infected Latin American asylum seekers in Madrid, Spain, 2022: A prospective cohort study from a major gateway in Europe. <a href="/content/ecdc">Euro Surveill.</a> 2024;29(29):pii=2300692. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.29.2300692" title="doi link" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.29.2300692</a> <span class="ES_Article_citation"> <span class="generated">Received</span>: 02 Dec 2023;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="generated">Accepted</span>: 28 Apr 2024 </span> </p>
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