More than half of 463 new patients last year in late stages of illness

THE message to those at risk of being infected with HIV to get tested does not seem to be getting through: 57 per cent of the 463 people diagnosed with the disease last year were in the late stages of infection.

The previous year, it was 50 per cent.

A similar number of people were diagnosed only when they sought treatment for other medical conditions.

Another 16 per cent found out through health screening.

Only 9 per cent or 42 people found out they had been infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) when they went voluntarily to be screened.

Aids activists said the high proportion of those diagnosed so late shows that more needs to be done to spread the message that HIV need not be a terminal illness if it is detected early.

Aids activist Brenton Wong believes that high-risk individuals are in denial. “They simply don’t want to believe that it could happen to them. We are still unable to break through that barrier,” he said.

He argued that another factor preventing people from getting tested is the high cost of HIV treatment in Singapore.

Because it is not subsidised, a cocktail of locally approved anti-retroviral HIV drugs can cost $1,200 a month.

Since February, however, those who cannot afford the cost of treatment can tap Medifund, a safety net to help those unable to pay their medical bills.

The latest update by the Ministry of Health (MOH) showed that the 463 new HIV cases last year were the highest in a year since the disease first surfaced in Singapore in 1985. The number of new cases has been on the rise since 2003.

Last November, MOH said that more people were coming forward to get tested, with the opening of four new clinics that offer anonymous testing. It also urged people in high-risk groups to get themselves tested regularly.

In 97 per cent of the new cases, people became infected through sexual activity.

Heterosexual activity accounted for 61 per cent of infections, homosexual activity for 30 per cent, and bisexual activity for 6 per cent. Seven people (2 per cent) became infected through intravenous drug use.

While nine in 10 new cases were men, the 45 women represented a 50 per cent increase from the 30 diagnosed in 2008.

The official tally of people here stricken with HIV now stands at 4,404. At least 1,278 have died, after they developed Aids, which destroyed their immune systems and left them vulnerable to various other infections.

Despite Aids education over the years, the profiles of those at risk have not changed: More than half are in their prime – between the ages of 30 and 49 – three in five are single, three in 10 are married and 11 per cent are divorced or separated.
 
The vice-president of Action for Aids, Ms Braema Mathi, said people needed to know that early detection meant better management of the disease.

“Research has shown that with early detection and the right treatment, an infected person could live 30 years, if not more. With this knowledge, then those engaged in high-risk lifestyles would get tested regularly,” she told The Straits Times.

There are now six general practitioner clinics and one Action For Aids site in Kelantan Lane that offer anonymous testing.

Ms Mathi said her organisation is looking at spreading the Aids prevention message at community clubs and centres “as they have a larger outreach”.

“There are many challenges that lie ahead of us when it comes to fighting stigmas and prejudices. Indeed, we have our work cut out,” she said.