Abstract
Objective: International migration is an increasingly important aspect of global, regional and national economies. The rapid spread of HIV among communities, states and continents, is the evidence of the link between population and growth-moving epidemic. The purpose of this study is to describe the role of immigration in the spread of HIV within the territory of the Albanian Republic.
Methods: We have used the database from the Institute of Public Health, Tirana, Albania and also, the medical records analysis at the Ambulatory Clinic of the Infectious Diseases in University Hospital Center ”Mother Teresa”, Tirana, Alba¬nia. In this paper are used data records from 1993 to 2012.
Results: A total of 575 cases were studied; 215 (37.4%) of these cases refer to have been infected in countries where the infected people were immigrant, and 360 (62.6%) refer to have been infected in Albania. Among the immigrants most of the infected were males (199 patients, 92.5%), with an average age of 42.5 years old.
Conclusion: Immigration is a dominant factor in the spread of HIV disease in Albania. Sexual transmission presumably predominates in majority of the cases; most of the infected immigrants come from Greece and Italy. The high rates of HIV among immigration need for more accurate epidemiologic data along with appropriate HIV service programs. J Microbiol Infect Dis 2015;5(3): 110-113

Besjana Xhani, University Hospital Center of ”Mother Theresa”,Hospital of Infectious Diseases, Tirana, Albania, The prevalence of HIV and the role of immigration in Albania, Besjana Xhani, University Hospital Center of ”Mother Theresa”,Hospital of Infectious Diseases, Tirana, Albania J Microbiol Infect Dis 2015;5(3): 110-113 doi: 10.5799/ahinjs.02.2015.03.0187