While HIV in this country continues to affect mostly gay men, it surprises people to learn that one in six people newly diagnosed with HIV in Australia are heterosexual. People often don’t realise that if you have had sex with someone in, or from a country where HIV is prevalent, you can be at risk.
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Getting tested is important because if it is a positive result, you can get treatment and support early to maintain your own good health and protect others in the community. More than 90 per cent of people diagnosed with HIV are on treatment and their levels of virus are so low that it is virtually impossible to be transmitted to others.
How has living with HIV changed? It has changed a lot in recent years. Men and women with HIV can now manage this lifetime infection with simpler, more effective medications and regular monitoring with their doctor. By doing this, people newly diagnosed with HIV do not progress to having AIDS and they can fully participate in life with no risk to others.
When people are diagnosed with HIV, their first thoughts often go to a worst case scenario. They are often surprised to hear that with treatment they have near normal life expectancy and can avoid serious illness. Another great improvement is that women on effective treatment for HIV can and do give birth to babies without HIV.
However, people diagnosed a long time after they were infected can still suffer serious illness. Once on HIV medications, they too notice the improvement in their health.
Transmission risks have decreased overall, but we still see discrimination. I have found that people with HIV are often cut off from the support that people with other health issues receive. It can become a lonely battle with serious mental health consequences. This isolation is more keenly felt in regional and rural areas.
This week provides a timely reminder to show support, not be afraid, and include people with HIV in your usual daily activities. If you think you may be at risk then it’s time to get tested.
2017 AIDS Awareness Week is 27 November to 3 December. For information about where to get tested, visit https://www.shil.nsw.gov.au/HIV-STI-Testing
Richard Riley has been a social worker for people with HIV since 1995. He has worked at John Hunter Hospital for the last 15 years, and regularly visits Tamworth to support people in New England.
