HIV cases on the rise in Sardinia . As, indeed, also in the rest of Italy.
The ISS report for 2023, referring to the previous year, notes that in '22, 1,888 new diagnoses of HIV infection were notified in our country. Which rises to over 2,000 new diagnoses in anticipation of notification delays.
The national incidence is approximately 3.7 new diagnoses per 100 thousand residents. The figure for Sardinia is 31 new diagnoses with an incidence of 2.1 per 100 thousand residents .
These are some of the data released by the Lila of Cagliari in view of December 1st, World Day to Fight AIDS.
The discovery often comes late, between the ages of 40 and 60 , sometimes with AIDS already established. And the statistics dispel the legend of a virus linked to homosexuality and drugs: in the majority of cases these are heterosexual people .
For 60% of new diagnoses in 2022, the discovery of one's HIV+ status is not only late but coincides with the state of AIDS with the appearance of related pathologies. And this happens more frequently in the age group between 39 and 59. This means that 60% of people today discover that they are positive for the virus for the first time, finding themselves on the threshold of full-blown AIDS .
«So - explained Brunella Mocci from Lila in Cagliari - they have contracted the virus for over a decade and, without any awareness of their status, they have not been able to access therapies and may have transmitted the virus to all their partners during the previous years . This invites us to pay greater attention and not to let our guard down."
HIV, hidden by the pandemic, has not disappeared. And it's important to send the right messages . Even in Sardinian , as in the campaign launched by Lila with large billboards posted in strategic points of the city, for example in front of the San Benedetto market.
"It's right to link the information - said Mocci - to our language, everyone knows Italian, but Sardinian can help to assimilate the concepts well."
Lila Cagliari offers many services and initiatives, such as the Helpline. «The testimonies of people with HIV who call us – explains Mocci – denounce loneliness, fear that someone will discover their serological status and divulge it , disregarded privacy in clinical centres, discrimination in the workplace, when a mandatory request for HIV test in order to be hired."
(Unioneonline/vl)
