Since 1988, the World Health Organisation has marked World AIDS Day on December 1 and dedicated it to raising awareness of the AIDS epidemic caused by the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and to mourning those who have died of the disease.
GSK Malta is marking this day by raising awareness of HIV infection and the importance of early diagnosis and optimal treatment. Unfortunately, many people are reluctant to get tested, disclose their HIV status or take antiretroviral therapy due to the stigma associated with the disease and fear of discrimination against people living with HIV.
Nearly half of all HIV cases are diagnosed late. As research constantly leads to better treatments, early diagnosis increases the chance of living a long, healthy life and reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to others. Following a positive diagnosis, it is important that patients are offered post-test counselling linked to specialist medical and social care and provided with the best option to start antiretroviral therapy (ART) while offering testing for their partners.
There is still no cure for HIV, but life-changing ART, consisting of increasingly effective medications that treat HIV, has helped significantly since the start of the epidemic. This therapy is taken as a combination of medicines to suppress viral load or the amount of HIV in the blood. The goal is to achieve and maintain an ‘undetectable’ viral load and to stop the virus from destroying the body’s infection-fighting CD4 cells.
In Malta,there has been a sharp and steady increase in the number of reported HIV infections over the past five years
In Malta, there has been a sharp and steady increase in the number of reported HIV infections over the past five years. In 2015, there were 50 newly diagnosed people infec-ted with HIV, compared to 17 new cases reported in 2010 (the figures were published following a question tabled in Parliament in December 2015). This requires an urgent call for action, to increase awareness of HIV infection and ensure that people at most risk of contracting the disease are tested and, if required, receive optimal treatment early on in the disease.
There are a number of preventative means that may reduce the risk of HIV transmission. These include the use of condoms, which may not be 100 per cent effective, the use of sterile injections for those who inject drugs and prevention of transmission through optimal ART.
UNAIDS (www.unaids.org/en) has set an ambitious goal to help end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Their 90-90-90 programme aspires to, by 2020, ensuring 90 per cent of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90 per cent will receive uninterrupted ART treatment and 90 per cent of those receiving ART will maintain control of the disease.
According to UNAIDS and the WHO, men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, intravenous drug users, prisoners and irregular migrants are disproportionately vulnerable and highly at risk of HIV infection. Such HIV-affected populations are already marginalised and, therefore, less likely to engage with their health systems successfully.
In its efforts to deliver optimal care to persons with HIV, GSK joined Pfizer and Shionogi (a Japanese company) to establish ViiV Healthcare, an independent, global, specialised HIV company equipped to move quickly in response to the needs of the HIV community. This enterprise has already launched industry-leading access initiatives to help deliver on WHO/UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals aiming to reach all those who need treatment. Read more on https://www.viivhealthcare.com/what-we-do/we-improve-access-to-our-medicines.aspx.
Some websites to visit: sexual health services in Malta – http://sexualhealth.gov.mt; the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, an EU agency that aims to strengthen Europe’s defences against infectious diseases – http://ecdc.europa.eu; the European AIDS Treatment Group, a European network of nationally based volunteer activists consisting of more than 110 members from 40 European countries – www.eatg.org; the European AIDS Clinical Society, a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to promote excellence in standards of care, research and education in HIV infection and related co-infections – www.eacsociety.org; AIDS.gov, a US federal resource to increase knowledge about HIV and access to HIV services for people most at risk for or living with HIV – www.aids.gov; and the International AIDS Society, the world’s largest association of HIV professionals, with members from more than 180 countries – www.iasociety.org.
Mario Sciberras is general manager at GlaxoSmithKline.