Starting to increase again in 2021, HIV testing has not yet caught up with the delay associated with Covid. “loss of fortune” for some patients, said Public Health in France, two days before World AIDS Day. With 5.7 million human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serologies performed in labs, screening started to increase again last year by 8%, the health agency said in its annual report.
The number of these blood tests fell by 13% in 2019-2020 after six years of growth. A side effect of the Covid-19 health crisis, which has worried those involved in the fight against AIDS. In 2021, the show really started again. But he stayed “Below levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic”. (6.1 million), noted Public Health in France. However, late detection of seropositivity represents “waste of luck” for the health of the victim, but also the risk of increasing the spread of the disease.
“There is no account”
In 2021, 29% of people infected with HIV were diagnosed with an advanced stage of infection, a proportion that has not decreased for several years. gold, “Early screening makes it possible to benefit from antiretroviral treatment, reduce viral load in the body and prevent further transmission of HIV to partners.”emphasized Florence Lott, pilot of the HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C STD unit at Public Health France, during a press briefing.
The number of HIV positive findings stabilized in 2021, making 5013 people. It fell sharply between 2019 and 2020 (-22%), with screenings falling, but also “it’s possible” with less exposure to the virus due to social distancing measures and border closures. Heterosexuals (male or female) and men who have sex with men (MSM) remained the most affected categories, accounting for 51% and 44% of HIV disclosures, respectively.
Many standing “Barriers to Screening”Public Health France rebroadcasts a communication campaign with the slogan “Living with HIV is first and foremost living.”, raise awareness of the preventive effects of antiretroviral drugs and fight discrimination. In addition to screening, uptake of the prophylactic pill (PrEP) for people at high risk of HIV remains lower than expected. “There is no account”was launched by Gilles Pialou, vice-president of the French Society Against AIDS, at another ANRS/Emerging Infectious Diseases briefing, covering around 40,000 users in France.
PrEP: “not enough aired” Outside of homosexuals, despite the possibility of prescribing it now in urban medicine, believes the head of the Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at Tenon Hospital (AP-HP). In particular, he pointed out the insufficient proportion of women or migrants among the beneficiaries “This treatment works very well” and: “doesn’t mind a condom”.
“A truly hypercomplex virus”
Furthermore, more than forty years after the first AIDS alarm, there is still no vaccine. It’s HIV “A truly hypercomplex virus”, for which it is extremely difficult to find a vaccine that can work, recalled Michaela Müller-Trutwin (Institut Pasteur). There is no cure for HIV. People with HIV must be treated for life. “Highly effective triple therapy has turned a deadly disease into a chronic infection. But if we stop the treatment, the virus will return to the same level within a few weeks.emphasized this specialist.
Many of the studies include finding new molecules to regulate dormant HIV in cells and boost the immune response of people living with HIV, he said. “We’re still hoping to find a cure, we’re not there yet.”, laments Emmanuel Beaudoin, a member of AIDES, a group of associations fighting AIDS. At the same time, he noted: “HIV carriers are still subjected to discrimination.” and remain vulnerable to various pathologies, such as those associated with Covid or, more recently, monkeypox. But AIDS research is ongoing and could also benefit Covid-19 patients in the long run, and vice versa, experts said.
Source: Le Figaro
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