December 1, 2009

December 1 is marked in Serbia by many events that tend to demonstrate, through joint actions, that HIV can be controlled. Aleksandra Novakovic has more.

On the International AIDS Day, it has been reiterated that over 30 million people live with HIV and it is necessary to pay more attention to this disease. In Serbia, this day is marked by a series of street events, education and free testing. The slogan of the event is CONNECT SAFELY. PROTECT LOVE. USE CONDOMS. Minister of Health Tomica Milosavljevic has pointed out that the awareness of citizens had changed most in the field of HIV, through a partnership between the local institutions, UN agencies and the civilian sector. The problem should be perceived in such a fashion that the problem of one individual is the problem of all of us, underlined Milosavljevic. He said that it is the only way to combat discrimination. The line Ministry, with support from the Serbian Ministry of Education, UNICEF and UNAIDS, organizes a public class in all elementary schools in Belgrade, where students in the seventh and eighth grade will be informed of basic information about HIV and means of protection. Students will make red banners with messages, which will be then distributed to citizens during the month of December. This action involves 20.000 Belgrade students, and it is envisaged that next year, the action covers the entire territory of Serbia. Like every year, free brochures on HIV prevention will be distributed, and citizens can undergo the free and anonymous testing. More than 3.000 HIV infected people live in Serbia, of whom more than half do not know that they are infected, it is stressed in the Serbian Institute of Public Health. Since 1999, the drop in new AIDS cases has been recorded, and it is estimated that this trend will also continue in the years to come. In addition, the decrease in the number of the dead has been noted. The lifespan of HIV-positive persons has been significantly prolonged by medical treatment both in Europe and the world.
In past years, the risk group predominantly involved men, while now women constitute one fourth of patients. There are prejudices that only certain groups of people are exposed to high HIV infection risk, which is not true, because three conditions must be met before the virus is transmitted from one person to another, namely, that the virus must be present, that it must be present in sufficient quantities, and that it enters through mucous membranes into the body. Early symptoms of AIDS can occur in men and women in the asymptomatic phase of infection, such as weight loss, fatigue, swollen glands and skin changes ... An HIV positive test does not mean that a person is diagnosed with AIDS or that they will have it in the future, but it is time they start paying a lot more attention to their health, improve their diet, rest more and be careful not to contract other sexually transmitted diseases.
It is best to do the test at least two to six months following the last likely exposure to HIV, because in 98% of cases, antibodies appear two months after exposure.