THIRTY years ago it was the highest-profile illness in the world.

HIV/Aids had only been discovered in humans a few years earlier and created a panic.

Hard-hitting awareness campaigns featured posters that portrayed deathly-frail “victims” and tombstones etched with “Aids”, while leaflets warning of the “dreadful disease” were distributed to homes across the country.

Scare stories about how you could catch it from a toilet seat or sharing a cup with someone – both untrue – soon followed.

The campaigns served their purpose. For a period until the late 1980s, diagnosis rates dropped.

But they are slowly rising again.

Now Southampton health chiefs have launched a campaign to tackle stigma around HIV through early testing.

Solent NHS Trust is running extra clinics across the city from Monday to December 3 as part of a national programme to catch the virus early enough to begin effective treatment.

And the free clinics will be offered in community venues to help remove the stigma around testing and provide a more comfortable setting.

It is thought that two in every 1,000 people in Southampton have HIV – the highest rate in Hampshire. And studies also suggest that one in five people with HIV do not know they have it.

Andrew Smith, Solent HIV prevention lead, said: “We know that people who are diagnosed late with HIV have increased rates of mortality within the first year of diagnosis. Getting tested for HIV is the best way of supporting your health.”

The finger-prick test involves drawing blood and combining it with separate solutions which can identify HIV antibodies within 60 seconds.

If HIV is found, patients are immediately fast-tracked into the city’s sexual health service and given another test to confirm the illness within 48 hours.

The national campaign is targeting certain groups, including gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, and African people, as these groups have been most affected by the virus historically.

HIV and Aids were first clinically observed in both the USA and UK in 1981, although HIV only received its name in 1986.

By 1985 the Government was spending millions of pounds to fight Aids and in 1986 the “Don’t Aid Aids” campaign was launched, followed by “Don’t Die of Ignorance” in 1987, when leaflets were delivered to every home in the country.

World Aids Day was created in 1988, with this year’s event coming up on December 1.

Mr Smith added: “One of the important things is the stigma and the fear around HIV testing from some communities. What we are trying to do is reduce that stigma and help people realise that if the test does show HIV, it is not a death sentence.

“If people are diagnosed early and with the right treatment and care, they should expect to lead a normal lifespan.

“We have a population of people with HIV who have it treated as a chronic illness, not a life-limiting illness, and there are some great support services, particularly Groundswell and Positive Action in Southampton.”

Donna Bone, chief executive of charity Positive Action, which helps people living with HIV in Hampshire, welcomed the move.

She said: “We know from feedback from people we work with that often it is the fear of the result which stops people being tested.

“But we also know once people have a negative result they then become confident enough to go to hospital to have a full sexual health screening, because they know their worst fears are not going to be realised.”

Cllr Dave Shields, city council Cabinet member for public health, said that the campaign has his “total support”.

He said: “We have a young population, a student population and we have people living here who have come from across the world, so the more we can do to promote testing and encourage people to come forward the better.

“And if people can be tested in more discreet settings where they feel more comfortable, then that makes a great deal of sense to me.”

For more information and advice visit letstalkaboutit.nhs.uk