One in two Poles infected with HIV has never taken a test and still does not know that he or she is infected with this dangerous virus. Risky sexual behaviour is a dangerous game that can leave a lifelong mark warn the organisers of the latest public awareness campaign to draw attention to the problem and encourage free and anonymous HIV testing. Do you like taking risks? See if you've won. A perverse campaign by the Institute for Patients' Rights and Health Education aims to draw attention to the problem of alarming statistics on HIV infection and encourage people to take tests to rule out or confirm infection. As part of the campaign, posters were created in urban spaces, aimed at women and men, referring to the dangerous game of risky sexual behaviour, in which instead of winning you can be infected with the dangerous virus and consequently lose your health. A website was also created www.testnahiv.plwhere you can find basic information about the virus and practical advice on living with an AIDS infection or disease. The campaign will appear in public spaces, the press and on the Internet from November this year. Eastern Europe more than Africa. Contrary to popular belief, the HIV problem is no longer exclusive to Africa. The UN is warning that it is now Europe, and not the Black Continent, that is facing the biggest challenge of the rise in new HIV infections in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The latest epidemiological data are worrying. In the last few years alone, the number of people infected with the virus has doubled, reaching almost 37 million people worldwide and around 35 000 in Poland. The disease is still a taboo subject and the fear of it is so great that instead of getting tested and being sure, we prefer to think that the problem does not affect us. It is estimated that about 50% of HIV-infected Poles are still unaware of the fact, and may unknowingly infect others. This is the highest such percentage in the European Union. "Until recently, it seemed that we had coped with HIV infections. The medical advances that have been made have allowed a change in thinking about a disease that, while still fatal, has taken on the characteristics of a chronic illness. However, while medicine has done well with diagnosis and treatment, we have still not dealt with the virus in the social space. HIV and AIDS seem to have become taboo subjects again and the lack of knowledge in turn causes most people to have the misconception that the problem does not concern them. As a consequence, they don't get tested and live with HIV for many years, engaging in risky behaviour and infecting more people. says Rev Arkadiusz Nowak, President of the Institute for Patients' Rights and Health Educationwho has been involved in AIDS prevention and support for many years. Any sexual contact is risky. Eighty per cent of HIV infections arise from risky sexual contact. In fact, any sexual contact is risky, because we can never be sure whether a person is infected with the virus or not. Contrary to popular belief, they also affect people in stable relationships. Firstly, it is very rare for partners to have tests done before starting to have intercourse, and they may be infected from previous relationships. Secondly, with infidelity on the rise, even in a steady relationship we may be at risk of HIV infection. Time is of the essence. Early detection of HIV infection does not go unnoticed in terms of treatment outcomes. Today, medicine is getting better and better at dealing with the virus, with some people living with HIV for 20 or even 30 years. However, the best results are obtained in patients who have undergone treatment soon after infection. This is because the idea is to quickly limit the multiplication of the virus and the damage to the immune system. Where and when to perform the test. HIV testing is carried out free of charge, without referral and anonymously with competent counselling at the counselling and diagnostic centres (HCPs), which can be found, among others, on the campaign website www.testnahiv.pl The timing of the test is important. It should be done at the earliest three months after the risky behaviour. The (so-called screening) test involves drawing a small amount of blood. It is not necessary to be fasting beforehand. The result, depending on the diagnostic centre, is available the next day or after a few days. The "Do you like risk? Check if you win" is Institute for Patients' Rights and Health Education. The agency responsible for the creation of the campaign is DEDADIand media house for media buying Media People. The honorary patron of the campaign is National Aids Centre and Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. The main campaign partner is Gilead Poland and partners are GSK and Janssen. The media partner is The Point.
