Numbers reveal that dozens of people infected with HIV in Nottinghamshire were diagnosed late

The sexual health charity Terence Higgins Trust says the Channel 4 drama “It’s A Sin,” which addresses the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, helped drive HIV testing, but there’s still work to be done. there is.

Of the 62 people over the age of 15 who were HIV positive in Nottinghamshire 27, they were diagnosed between 2017 and 2019, according to data from the UK Public Health Service.

Throughout the United Kingdom, 3,870 of the 8,979 tests were recorded as late diagnoses over the same period.

PHE figures also show that in 2019, 47% of Nottinghamshire’s 20,500 people who used specialized sexual health services missed the opportunity to be examined in the clinic by not being offered an appointment or declining. Is shown.

The Terence Higgins Trust states that HIV testing should be standardized and checked when a person enrolls in a general practitioner or participates in an A & E.

He added that the new drama “It’s a Sin,” which has already received 6.5 million views, has already helped test a record number of orders ordered as part of last week’s National HIV Testing Week.

The five-part television series tells the story of a group of young gay men in London in the midst of an AIDS pandemic.

Ian Green, Chief Executive Officer of the Terence Higgins Trust, said: “During the National HIV Testing Week, we saw the effect of” it’s a sin. ” [series actor] Olly Alexander’s encouragement on social media for people to take the test.

“It’s a brilliant legacy of the series.”

But he added: “Finding people infected with undiagnosed HIV requires more tests across the country, and there should never be a zip code lottery for access.

“The HIV test should be something like an eye test or seeing a dentist, and you need to have the opportunity to do so.”

Throughout the UK, late diagnosis rates have risen from 40% between 2014 and 2016.

A late diagnosis is recorded by measuring the strength of a person’s immune system at the time of a positive test result. The numbers are from a test that provides cell count data within 91 days.

According to PHE, many people diagnosed late have been infected for at least three years, increasing the likelihood of premature death.

Without treatment, HIV can cause AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). AIDS is a collection of symptoms caused by weakened immunity that makes you more susceptible to life-threatening illnesses.

HIV is transmitted from person to person through body fluids such as semen and blood and is most commonly caught by unprotected sex.

It cannot be disseminated through everyday contact such as cutlery sharing or kissing.

In Nottinghamshire, the rate of new HIV diagnoses in 2019 was 3 per 100,000 people over the age of 15.

This was below the national average, at 8 per 100,000.

Claire Perkins, Deputy Director of PHE’s Priority and Program, said: “We recommend that people at risk of HIV be tested regularly.

“Through early detection and treatment with antiretroviral therapy, HIV-infected people can be expected to live as long as HIV-infected people.”

She said people at risk for HIV and STI could access services through a sexual health clinic during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Message from the editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. I’m getting your attention, but I also make an important request to you.

Also buy a copy of our newspaper to continue to provide high quality and reliable local news on this free site.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the strictest standards in the world. But there is a price to be in your eyes and ears. So you need more help than ever to buy a newspaper during this crisis.

The blockade of the coronavirus has had a huge impact on many of our key local advertisers, and as a result, it has had a significant impact on the ads we receive, so buy a copy of the newspaper to provide news and information. I rely on you more than ever.