Thread: Earlier we talked about #UequalsU: the fact that someone on effective treatment can’t pass on #HIV to sexual partners. So why are people still contracting it? #WAD2018 #KnowYourStatus
Well to be on effective treatment, you have to know you have HIV. So, the answer is actually pretty simple: new transmissions occur because people don’t know their status.
We also know that it’s easier to transmit #HIV in the first months after you contract it. The amount of virus in the body is really high when you first contract HIV, but tends to go down over the first year for most people, meaning that it becomes harder to transmit the virus.
So in those first months it’s much easier to pass #HIV on, and we think that’s when a lot of new transmissions occur.
That’s one reason there’s so much emphasis on making it easy and convenient to get tested for #HIV: it’s not just better for people living with HIV, it’s also a smart public health strategy because it reduces opportunities for other people to contract the virus. #KnowYourStatus
