Hampshire's HIV and Aids rate still on the increase after 20 years

2:18pm Monday 1st December 2008

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By Sally Churchward »

It’s exactly 20 years since the first World Aids Day – and stil more and more people across Hampshire are being told they are HIV positive.

Latest figures show that in 2007, 437 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in the south central area – which includes Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

From 2006 to 2007 there was a 15 per cent increase in the number in need of HIV care in the region to 2,776 people.

Donna Bone, chief executive of Positive Action, which has taken over the running of Southampton’s Ribbons Centre, where people with HIV and Aids can get support, information and advice, says there are many reasons for the increase in the number of people in the area with HIV.

She said: “There has been research in the last couple of years about the effects of alcohol and drug usage on risk-taking behaviour.

There’s evidence that while people have a level of knowledge and understanding, some of that becomes less important to you when under the influence, particularly within the gay community.

“Within the heterosexual community, research shows that it’s more a case of people thinking ‘it won’t happen to me’. There’s still the perception that you can tell by looking at someone whether they’re the sort of person who would be infected and of course that isn’t the case.”

It is also believed that confusion over the improved treatment of HIV and Aids has led to some people wrongly thinking that the virus can now be cured.

Ms Bone added: “The advancements in medication are fantastic and really have changed the prospect of people living with HIV in the past ten to 15 years. But the reality is it’s a regime of m e d i c a t i o n which has to be adhered to very strictly and there are some very unpleasant side effects and symptoms of living with this condition and taking very t o x i c medication.

“HIV is still a lifelong condition and a life-threatening condition.

We’re still seeing people dying of HIV-related conditions.”

As well as the number of people living with HIV in the UK there is also a large number of people who have the infection without knowing it.

Steve Jones, regional manager of sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust in the South Central region, said: “There are now well over 20,000 people in the UK who have HIV and don’t know it. Not only is this dangerous to their own health but they are also more likely to pass the virus on than someone who has been diagnosed.

“A reluctance to test for HIV also means that 31 per cent of people diagnosed last year were diagnosed very late – perhaps a year after infection. Their immune systems have already been damaged and, unless they start immediate treatment, they will be vulnerable to a host of serious illnesses.”

■ For more information about HIV and Aids and support, contact Positive Action: positiveaction.org or call 0800 9801990 or the Groundswell Trust: groundswelltrust.org or call 023 8063 1651.

LIVING WITH AIDS: Betty from Southampton

BETTY* from Southampton was diagnosed as HIV positive in October 2000.

She was extremely ill with pneumonia when doctors decided to test her for the HIV virus.

Surprisingly, she says that the result was something of a relief.

“I was so poorly and I thought if I’m dying I want to know what’s killing me,” she said.

“When I found out that I had HIV I thought at least I know why.”

Betty, who comes from Zimbabwe, isn’t sure how she caught the virus, although it could have come from a blood transfusion in her homeland.

“I used to think that only people with loose morals caught HIV so I thought the test would be negative. It made me change how I view people with the virus”

Unfortunately Betty’s health has suffered, both as a result of the toll the virus has taken on her immune system and the side effects of the drugs she needed to take while ill in hospital.

Betty, 42, uses the services provided by Southampton-based HIV and Aids support group Groundswell and the Ribbons Centre.

She says that it is important to her to have people she can be open with about her HIV status as generally she feels she has to keep it a secret.

* The Daily Echo has changed Betty’s name to protect her privacy.