Dozens of patients diagnosed in local HIV testing pilot
Posted December 13, 2012 11:48 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Many were living with the virus and didn’t know it; a Vancouver HIV testing pilot has diagnosed dozens of patients in its first year.
Since October 2011, four hospitals around the city have been offering the tests to patients when other blood work was needed. Over 5,000 people who wouldn’t have been tested were checked, with more than 30 positive results.
Dr. Patricia Daly with Vancouver Coastal Health says the numbers were higher than anticipated.
“We believe in British Columbia that we do many HIV tests… that we’re diagnosing people early on in their infection. But in fact, the opposite is true; we’re finding that we’re diagnosing people very late in the course of their infection,” she explains.
The government will expand the tests across the province next year.
Daly explains before this pilot began tests were only done for those at high risk, like intravenous drugs users. “What we’re finding… is you can’t make those assumptions. The best way to diagnose people early in their infection, when they’re most likely to benefit from treatment, is to routinely test the entire adult population.”
She adds an HIV-positive person on the proper medication is 96 per cent less likely to transmit the infection. The program will be expanded across the province next year.
