Prevalence of HIV infection in young male candidates scheduled for military recruitment and whole population in Turkey

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the epidemiology and recent incidence of HIV infection among young male candidates scheduled for military recruitment and whole young population in Turkey, a country previously known as markedly low prevalence of HIV infection. Materials and Methods: In the present study, the medical records from respective health institutions between the years 2007 and 2013 of male candidates scheduled for recruitment  from recruitment offices serving under the National Defence Ministry of Turkish Republic, diagnosed with HIV infection and as such judged as unfit for service were requested.  Results: While the total number of new HIV/AIDs cases in 2000 was 157, a fourfold increase (589) was recorded in the year 2010, and reaching 1,068 by the year 2012.  Considering, data from the national statistics, in the year 2013 (including the month of November), a total of 7050 HIV positive cases were reported and of all the cases 4,931 (72%) consisted of males. At the same time, an important part of this group falls into the 18-45 year group category. Conclusion: As a conclusion, the prevalence of HIV infection in Turkey remains still low as compared to that of current global figures but the case numbers of HIV positive candidates of recruits and young people in the whole population are increasing alarmingly in significant manner due to every new coming year. So, programs targeted at identifying high risk groups and increasing the testing rates and preventive measures about HIV infection  should be improved and developed