{"id":13573,"date":"2018-11-18T19:58:57","date_gmt":"2018-11-18T19:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myhealthspecialist.com\/blog\/?p=13573"},"modified":"2021-04-21T13:36:43","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T12:36:43","slug":"national-hiv-testing-week-promoting-testing-opportunities-across-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myhealthspecialist.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/18\/national-hiv-testing-week-promoting-testing-opportunities-across-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"National HIV testing week: Promoting testing opportunities across the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-13596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myhealthspecialist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shutterstock_132118031-copy.jpg\" alt=\"HIV testing\" width=\"600\" height=\"408\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Many people living with HIV do not realise they are infected until the late stages of the disease, yet HIV can be easily detected via a simple blood test. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hivpreventionengland.org.uk\/2018\/07\/18\/save-the-date-national-hiv-testing-week-2018\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">National HIV testing week<\/a> starts on 17th November 2018 and aims to promote increased opportunities for HIV testing. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><u>What is HIV?<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)<\/strong> is a virus that infects and destroys a type of the body\u2019s white blood cells, called CD4 T cells. These cells play a vital role in fighting off infections caused by bacteria, viruses and other invaders within the body. If left untreated, the number of healthy CD4 T cells remaining in an infected person\u2019s blood can drop over a number of years, leading to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a life-threatening but now uncommon condition<sup>1<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p><em><u>How does HIV spread? <\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>People become infected by HIV in three main ways:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sexual contact<\/strong>: most people with HIV in the UK have acquired it through vaginal or anal sex without a condom. The risk of transmission by oral sex is much lower<sup>2<\/sup><\/li>\n<li><strong>Body fluids<\/strong>: although less common, HIV can be spread via infected blood. This includes needlestick injuries and needle sharing, as well as contaminated blood transfusions<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mother to child<\/strong>: HIV can be passed from mother to child during pregnancy, during childbirth or whilst breastfeeding. However, the risk of transmission with appropriate treatment can be lowered to 1%<sup>3<\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the UK, an estimated 101,200 people were living with HIV in 2015, which is around 1.6 per 1000 people. Of these, 10,400 people were unaware that they had HIV, and there were 6095 new diagnoses of HIV<sup>1<\/sup>. Late diagnosis remains a key issue despite testing and treatment being freely available<sup>4<\/sup>. Groups most at risk of becoming infected include men who have unprotected sex with men, heterosexual black African men and women<sup>5<\/sup>, and people who inject drugs<sup>6<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p><em><u>How is HIV infection diagnosed?<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>A simple blood test is able to detect HIV. These are available at sexual health clinics, charity clinics such as Terrence Higgins Trust, and some GP surgeries. Home sampling and self-test kits are often able via post in many parts of the UK.<\/p>\n<p><em><u>What can happen when someone has HIV?<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the early stages of HIV infection, there may be no symptoms present. However, as the virus spreads within the body and the healthy CD4 T cell count drops, this can lead to AIDS. AIDS is a potentially life-threatening condition because it makes people vulnerable to opportunistic infections such as pneumocystis pneumonia, and viral-induced cancers such as Kaposi\u2019s sarcoma. It is also associated with severe weight loss. In 2016, 442 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in the UK<sup>2<\/sup>; however, with the correct treatment AIDS is, fortunately, becoming more and more presentable.<\/p>\n<p><em><u>How can HIV be treated?<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>There is still no cure for HIV, but treatment is now enabling many affected people to live their lives normally. Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) should be started immediately as it is used to slow down the replication and spread of the virus in the body. The viral load is measured by a blood test to monitor the effectiveness of the treatment, with most people reaching an undetectably low level of HIV within 6 months of starting ART<sup>7<\/sup>. The risk of transmission of HIV from a person on ART has also been shown to be reduced<sup>8<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>In an emergency, Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) should be started within 72 hours of coming into contact with HIV to reduce the risk of becoming infected.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, prevention is better than cure, so avoiding having sex without a condom or sharing needles will greatly reduce the risk of becoming infected with HIV.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"popmake-national-hiv-testing-week\" href=\"#\">References<\/a><\/p>\n<h6 class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><span class=\"s1\">This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. myHealthSpecialist makes no representations as t<\/span><span class=\"s2\">o the accuracy or completeness of any of the information in this article or found by following any\u00a0link from this article<\/span><span class=\"s1\">. Please consult a doctor or other healthcare professional for medical advice.<\/span><\/span><\/h6>\n<hr \/>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-13593 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myhealthspecialist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2018-11-18-at-19.24.48.jpeg\" alt=\"James Gregory\" width=\"978\" height=\"1211\" \/><\/p>\n<p>James Gregory<br \/>\nFinal year medical student,\u00a0King&#8217;s College London<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jamesjgregory94\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@jamesgregory94<\/a><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many people living with HIV do not realise they are infected until the late stages of the disease, yet HIV can be easily detected via a simple blood test. National HIV testing week starts on 17th November 2018 and aims to promote increased opportunities for HIV testing. What is HIV? Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is&hellip; <a class=\"continue\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myhealthspecialist.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/18\/national-hiv-testing-week-promoting-testing-opportunities-across-the-uk\/\">Continue Reading National HIV testing week: Promoting testing opportunities across the UK<\/a><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>National HIV Testing Week: Promoting Testing Opportunities Across the UK\u00a0<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many people living with HIV do not realise they are infected until the late stages of the disease, yet 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