Chilling rise: ‘50 percent are living without knowing they are infected with HIV’

In İzmir, a 13-year-old child was diagnosed with AIDS after being treated for suspected osteoporosis. The child, whose HIV status was not even known, was hospitalized in the final stage but could not be saved. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asuman İnan, President of the Turkish Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (KLİMİK), stated that citizens avoid getting tested due to fear of stigmatization and called for an increase in anonymous testing centers.

“50 PERCENT ARE LIVING WITHOUT KNOWING THEY ARE INFECTED”

Stating that 50 percent of HIV-positive individuals are not even aware that they are infected, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İnan said, “HIV is a virus; if a patient infected with the virus is not diagnosed and does not receive treatment, it progresses to AIDS, which is the advanced stage where cancers and opportunistic infections emerge. Testing can be done at any age to diagnose HIV infection. The virus should be detected within the first 14 days after contact. This infection can be contracted at any age. There is a possibility of transmission to everyone. In Turkey, only 50 percent of HIV-positive individuals know they are infected with HIV. 50 percent are diagnosed, while the remaining 50 percent live without knowing they are infected with HIV. Therefore, we need to increase diagnosis. Because if a person is diagnosed and receives treatment, their transmissibility also disappears.”

“ANONYMOUS TESTING CENTERS MUST BE INCREASED”

Underlining that the main priority should be increasing anonymous testing centers, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İnan said, “Anyone with health insurance can get tested at state hospitals, but people are afraid of being stigmatized; this is what needs to be fought against. When people receive an HIV-positive diagnosis, they think they might lose their jobs or spouses and be judged by society, so they avoid getting tested. For this reason, there are anonymous testing centers in Istanbul, with two locations, as well as in İzmir and Ankara. You can get tested without providing identification; these centers need to be increased.”

“THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE IN THE 15-19 AGE GROUP”

Expressing that the frequency of the HIV virus in children has increased in recent years, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İnan stated, “According to Ministry of Health data, the majority of new HIV cases in Turkey occur in the 25-34 young adult age group, but in recent years, there has been an increase in the 15-19 pediatric age group. This worries us. While there are findings that the age of sexual debut has dropped to 14, we must inform our children about this issue in appropriate language and by experts. Especially in cases involving minors, the possibility of it being a forensic case should be evaluated by the necessary authorities.”

“HIV INFECTION IS TRANSMITTED IN 3 WAYS”

Concluding her remarks by explaining the transmission routes of HIV infection, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İnan said the following:

“It is transmitted in 3 ways. It is most commonly transmitted sexually, followed by blood and from mother to child. When there is mother-to-child transmission, it is easy to diagnose; if the mother has it, it can be transmitted to the child. But when we provide treatment, we do not see mother-to-child transmission in our clinics. The rate of transmission from a mother who receives treatment before or after birth to her baby is below 1 percent. Blood has also been screened in Turkey since 1986. Therefore, transmission through blood is also a very low probability. Ministry data states that in 50 percent of cases, the mode of transmission is unknown, but we can say that the remaining cases are sexually transmitted. It is not transmitted through shared pools, shared toothbrushes, shared toilets, living in the same house, or mosquito bites.”