In the 80s, the AIDS' awareness campaign helped end ignorance surrounding the virus HIV. But 30 years on, the health protection agency says many people are living with HIV without realizing it, and late diagnosis is leading to more deaths.
"So, protect yourself." There're 86,000 people infected with HIV in Britain, but of those almost a quarter don't know they're HIV positive. Last year, 516 people with the infection died, 73% of them were diagnosed late. In fact, more than half of all newly diagnosed people are diagnosed late,meaning they may not benefit from treatments, and it also leaves them vulnerable to contracting other diseases as many with HIV are aware.
I was diagnosed late. I had a time which I got my HIV diagnosis, I also got diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, which is a serious form of cancer. And I had to go through about 3 months in hospital, then about further 6 months of chemotherapy to get over all of that. If I've been diagnosed earlier, then I would have saved myself from having to go through all of that. Everyday, there's a person in the UK, who dies with HIV, having been late, having been diagnosed late. And there's no reason why that should happen. Charities like Terrence Higgins Trust say some people are reluctant to be tested for HIV, because they don't believe they could be at risk, or they possibly in denial because the stigma still attach to it. But the charity also says it's imperative to be diagnosed as early as possible because the sooner you start treatment, the better your prognosis. The overall number of new cases is falling, but the health protection agency wants more widespread testing for HIV, not just to treat those who don't know they have it, but also to reduce the chance of virus spreading. |