There was a time when polio and smallpox were real concerns of parents everywhere, and epidemics were rampant.
Those days are long behind us.
We’re now looking at a very real future where HIV infections will be a distant memory too. AIDS is already something people talk about in the past tense in Australia.
How can we end HIV? Well there’s a few little steps.
Making sure you’re tested at least annually if you’re sexually active, or up to 4 times a year if you are at higher risk is important. Check out ‘how often should I have a sexual health check?’ For more information
It used to be that we’d wait until HIV would cause someone’s immunity to drop before beginning them on treatment. These were when medications were new, had many side effects and people needed to be on a lot of expensive tablets.
But things have come a long long way since then.
We know that by beginning treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis, we can protect against all the long term effects and secondary issues associated with HIV. It also greatly reduces the chance of transmission through Treatment as Prevention (TasP) when a viral load is undetectable.
There are lots of things that can be done to reduce the chance of transmission.
Check out endinghiv.org.au for more information