According to a UNAIDS report, one in four sufferers are unaware that they have the disease.
December 1st is World AIDS Day. For this day, a campaign against the stigmatization and discrimination of people living with HIV will be launched. “The main obstacles to the practice of the HIV screening test remain stigma and discrimination”, underlines UNAIDS, the UN program which fights against the HIV pandemic, in its report. “The fear that the information of a possible seropositivity will be disclosed to their family, their friends, their sexual partners, prevents people from accessing screening.”
Do you #KnowYourStatus? In the lead up to #WorldAIDSDay on 1 December, take the UNAIDS quiz at https://t.co/6dhonvO7uR to find out if you should get tested for HIV. pic.twitter.com/FGGxzqQ15N
— UNAIDS (@UNAIDS) November 25, 2018
The screening problem is getting worse
A screening problem that is getting worse since in 2017, the proportion of HIV-positive people in the world who knew their status was 75%, compared to 67% in 2015, leaving 9.4 million patients in the dark. . Stigma and discrimination are not the only obstacles to screening since “violence and the threat of reprisals, particularly against young women and girls” are additional obstacles. “In many countries, access to screening tests is only allowed to minors with parental consent,” recalls UNAIDS.
UNAIDS aims to defeat the HIV epidemic by 2030. But to achieve it, progress is necessary. “Testing is a starting point, but treatment and viral load suppression are essential to defeating the epidemic,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. However, HIV-positive people with access to antiretroviral treatment were 21.7 million in 2017, compared to 17.2 million two years ago.
Annual viral load testing is essential
Nearly 20 million HIV-positive people have not yet reached an undetectable level of viral load. However, “to stay healthy and prevent transmission, the virus must be present in a very weak and undetectable way”, insists the UNAIDS in its report. For this, it is recommended to carry out a viral load test every year. The problem is that many countries do not have access to the machines allowing these tests. “Sometimes, there is only one device for the whole country…”, lament the writers of the report. In France, an HIV self-test, 99% reliable, is available in pharmacies and a toll-free number exists to support patients.
Also, these viral tests are especially necessary for newborns who need to be detected as early as possible. “Rapid diagnostic tests are ineffective before 18 months”, specifies however the UNAIDS. “The only way to protect them is to give them a viral load test between 4 and 6 weeks of life.” In 2017, only 52% of children exposed to the virus in the most affected countries were able to benefit from this test during their first two months of life.
.