In the last ten years the number of people infected with HIV in Costa Rica has raised a 68%, back in 2002 health centers would diagnose less than one new case per day, while by 2016 this number went to one new patient every 12 hours.

Almost 80% of the new patients diagnosed are homosexual men. According to Costa Rican Health Authorities, between 2002 and 2016 there were a total of 9,197 diagnosed patients, out of which 7,478 are male and 1,719 females; close to 2000 patients died as a result of this illness.

65.8% of the women acquire the virus from their partners. The lack of information and education regarding this illness creates a raise in the number of cases, according to the Ministry of Health it is still very common that a large percentage of the population believes that HIV can be acquired by using a public restroom or drinking from the same glass as someone who was infected, when in reality the big majority of the cases originate from unprotected sexual relations.

In the world there were approximately 36.7 million people living with HIV at the end of 2016 according to the World Health Organization, out of this 20.9 million are receiving antiretroviral therapy.

It is estimated that close to 2.5 million people are infected every year by this virus that has caused the death of more than 30 million people since 1980, according to a study presented at the International AIDS Conference which took place in Durban International Convention Center this past July.

The Costa Rica Public Health and Social Security Administration (C.C.S.S) urges sexually active people to get tested. Results are confidential.