MOSCOW, February 29. /TASS/. The number of new cases of HIV infection in Russia has decreased by 30% over the past five years, while the population screening coverage has increased by 13% over ten years, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said in his greeting to the participants of the 2nd Russian Congress on Medical Microbiology and Infectology.

"The number of new cases of HIV infection has decreased by 30% in five years, and the coverage of the population by screening has increased by 13% in ten years," he said, noting that "certain successes" have been achieved in the fight against socially significant infectious diseases over the past ten years.

In addition, the incidence of tuberculosis has decreased by more than 50% over the past ten years, while mortality has decreased by more than 70%, the minister added.

"I would like to note the progress in the development and application of modern diagnostic methods. Over the past few years, 144 laboratories in Russian constituent entities have been modernized, more than 6,000 units of modern diagnostic and medical equipment have been purchased," Murashko noted.