In 16 regions of Russia, HIV-positive patients are being denied necessary tests en masse

Since the beginning of 2025, people with HIV have been denied viral load and immune status tests in at least 16 regions of Russia. This was reported by representatives of the public movement "Patient Control", which unites people living with HIV. In the first months of the year, about 40 complaints were received about difficulties with diagnostics. This is reported by Vedomosti.

According to clinical recommendations, viral load and immune status tests should be performed every six months to monitor the progress of the disease and the effectiveness of therapy. In the first months after the start of antiretroviral treatment, tests are prescribed more often - after one and three months.

Refusals were recorded in such regions as Samara, Tyumen, Kaluga, Orenburg, Rostov, Leningrad, Amur regions, as well as in Dagestan, Udmurtia and Bashkiria. The platform "Pereboii.ru", which collects complaints about interruptions in the supply of HIV medications, found messages from patients in ten of these regions. In addition, an anonymous infectious disease specialist from the Perm AIDS Center confirmed a shortage of viral load test kits.

In a number of regions, official AIDS centers have confirmed the lack of equipment, in particular in the Leningrad Region and Bashkiria. The head physician of the Leningrad Region AIDS Center, Aleksey Kovelenov, noted that since 2022, federal funding for diagnostics has been reduced by 35%, while the number of patients has increased by almost 13%. This has led to a shortage of test systems and a decrease in the frequency of examinations. There are tests, but their number is limited.

In Bashkiria, the situation is even more acute: according to acting chief physician Aigul Galieva, only about a quarter of the required volume of test systems was delivered in 2025, which is why examinations are carried out only once a year instead of the recommended twice.

At the same time, official representatives of regional health ministries in Perm Krai, Samara, Tyumen, Kaluga and Orenburg regions, as well as Udmurtia, say there are no problems with providing diagnostics. However, patients report the opposite: for example, a resident of Orenburg said that she was denied a viral load test due to the lack of test systems, and examinations are only carried out on pregnant women. According to Patient Control, patients at the initial stage of therapy also often do not receive timely monitoring.

Thus, the shortage of diagnostic tools and reduced funding create serious obstacles to regular monitoring of HIV infection in patients in a number of regions of Russia.

Earlier, Russians were told where they could become infected with viral hepatitis B.

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