AIDS-Hilfe Salzburg calls for testing
9,000 HIV-infected people currently live in Austria, plus an unreported number of around ten percent. As of November 15, there were a total of 21 new diagnoses in Salzburg. That is six more than in the previous year and at the same time 20 less than in 2019 – even before Corona times. The Austria-wide development is similar: 430 (2019), 232 (2020) and 262 (2021) new diagnoses. “These numbers have nothing to do with the fact that there are fewer HIV-positive people,” warns the managing director of AIDS Help Salzburg, Willi Maier, at today’s online press conference on the occasion of the 33rd World AIDS Day on December 1st.
Little or no symptoms of infection
Since Corona there has simply been less testing. While around 2,500 tests were recorded in Salzburg in 2019, last year and this year there were more than 1,000 fewer blood samples (1,425 and 1,480), Maier shows. “We will only know in a few years how the decline in tests during Corona will actually work,” says Maier. In addition, the average time between infection and diagnosis is two to three years. Because especially in the early stages there are hardly any symptoms that indicate HIV infection.
Prompt treatment can prevent serious illness
Rapid therapy is essential in order to avoid long-term effects, emphasizes LAbg.Sebastian Huber (NEOS), who is continuously cared for as a specialist in internal medicine, dies from HIV. “The earlier you treat, that can be treated and an early stage can only be more easily detected with a test.
The main points about HIV symptoms in brief
- Symptoms of HIV can vary greatly from person to person.
- Shortly after an HIV infection, symptoms similar to those of the flu may appear, for example: fever, fatigue, night sweats or swelling of the lymph nodes. These usually go away after a short time.
- This is usually followed by a long period without symptoms. Nevertheless, HIV damages the body.
- Without HIV treatment, the immune system will eventually be so weakened that life-threatening diseases will occur. Then one speaks of AIDS.
- Thanks to HIV medication, one can live long and well with HIV and prevent AIDS.
- HIV symptoms are non-specific and can also occur with other diseases. A swelling of the lymph nodes with night sweats does not necessarily mean that you have contracted HIV. However, if symptoms occur close to an HIV risk, an HIV test can be useful.
And howAre you HIV-positive with Corona?
HIV-infected people a year ago were not considered to be corona risk patients, this assumption has now been broadened in the latest studies. “Today we assume that people infected with HIV, especially those aged 50 and over, have significantly higher rates of Covid-19 disease,” says Huber. Not least because of this, the doctor urges HIV-infected people to be vaccinated. “The vaccination commission expressly recommends vaccination and we now know that people who are infected and have the appropriate therapy, the corona vaccination also works very well,” Huber tries to counter possible concerns. In addition, the booster vaccination should be carried out after four months.
AIDS patients who get Covid-19 require special care and are treated, among other things, in the special outpatient department of the Salzburg State Hospital.
AIDS-Hilfe Salzburg is keeping her Test and consultation offer upright even during lockdown. There are test options every Monday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The current status can also be obtained from a number of doctors in the entire state of Salzburg at any time.
(Source: SALZBURG24)