Health officials are sounding the alarm as HIV diagnoses among women over 50 are on the rise, despite overall declines in new infections. The increase is prompting renewed efforts to combat lingering stigma and misinformation surrounding the virus,which remains largely preventable with modern treatments.
For decades, HIV was often a fatal diagnosis, notably in the 1980s and 90s. Today, advancements in medicine mean people living with HIV can live long, healthy lives. Effective drug treatments suppress the virus to undetectable levels, preventing transmission - a concept known as U=U, or undetectable = untransmissible.
However, the Blue Sky Trust reports that significant stigma surrounding HIV persists, leading to hazardous misconceptions. They’ve encountered individuals who believe the virus can be contracted through casual contact, such as sharing cutlery or using the same toilet seat. In reality, HIV is primarily transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse.
Nigel Bullock,a member of the Newcastle-based Blue Sky Trust,has been actively using social media to dispel these myths and educate the public. “I sat and did a great big post at eight o’clock on a Saturday night and posted all over Facebook, all over Instagram,” Bullock said. ”I thought I’ll check them tommorow morning and then deal with whatever comes back.”
Bullock was encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response to his posts. “To my amazement, there was no hate, there was no negative, there was nobody saying anything that made me feel awful. It was just really positive,people learning,people asking questions.”
