In Hertfordshire in 2014 there were 1,119 people with diagnosed HIV.
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It’s HIV testing week and figures released today show there has been a 33% increase in the number of people living with HIV in Cornwall since 2010.
In the Interior Health region, 65 per cent of people diagnosed with HIV are diagnosed long after becoming infected. You can live with HIV for many years without symptoms, increasing the risk of late diagnosis and of the virus being unknowingly passed to others.
During National HIV testing week Cornish health workers are reminding people that HIV is a risk for sexually active people of all ages but especially men who have sex with men and black African groups.
– The best way to prevent HIV is to use a condom for sex and never to share needles. The earlier this can be done helps to reduce the onward transmission of HIV.
A CHARITY dedicated to supporting people affected by HIV and AIDs is urging people in Worcester to get tested for the condition.
Information is also provided in the kits about how to access any support needed from local specialist services.
Advances in medical treatment now means a positive diagnosis does not equal the end of the road so the likes of Hollywood star Charlie Sheen, who revealed he was HIV positive last week, can still move forward.
Sheen told American television: “I am here to admit that I am in fact HIV positive and I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks, of sub-truths – very harmful – stories that are threatening the health of so many others”.
There are lots of events going on in Hertfordshire and places you can quick and easily get tested. “That’s why it’s important to get tested early and often”.
Recent figures from Public Heath England suggest that over 103,700 are living with HIV in the United Kingdom with 18,000 of those unaware that they are carrying the virus.
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Jinja mayor Baswale Kezaala has said all political aspirants for various elective positions should take an HIV test to serve as role models in the fight against the scourge.
