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Australia’s National Association of
People Living with HIV/AIDS is launching a new campaign to address late
diagnosis and treatment. About 30 percent of those who know they have HIV go
untreated, say experts and advocates with NAPWA’s “Start the Conversation
Today” campaign. New Australian residents lacking the nation’s Medicare card
are especially likely to forego treatment.
“We’ve got a range of analysis and
reports that show people have had past negative experiences with older
treatments, and that’s still influencing many personal attitudes and decisions
to seek treatment,” said Jo Watson, NAPWA’s executive director. “We are trying
to get the community curious again about the situation for HIV treatments and
encourage those with HIV to start conversations with their doctors if they’re
unaware of treatment advances.”
NAPWA endorses the movement toward
early treatment for all people with HIV. Current Australian guidelines suggest
the initiation of treatment for patients with CD4 cell counts of less than 500,
but these are being reviewed.
“The problem is that you can’t start
treatment, then stop,” said Don Smith, head researcher at the Albion Street
Center, a community center that assists people affected by HIV. “You have to
continue for the rest of your life, so that puts people off, as well as the
fact that a lot of people don’t feel sick in the early stages.”
Large studies have shown that an
early start on antiretroviral therapy cuts illness and death rates, Smith said.
“One large clinical trial found a 96 percent reduction in transmission rates
for those on treatment,” he added.
For more information, visit http://napwa.org.au/2012/04/20/napwas-new-hiv-treatments-campaign-whats-it-about.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
