Are you living with HIV? 20,000 Britons don't know they are

I hope that you will be interested in a new article written for the patient-facing website www.totalhealth.co.uk by Professor Margaret Johnson of The Royal Free Hospital NHS Trust. In the article she describes the prevalence, symptoms and treatment of HIV/AIDS in the UK today.

Over 20,000 people in the UK are unknowingly infected with HIV and remain undiagnosed resulting in a lack of treatment and an increased chance of inadvertent infection. Patients should be aware of the lifestyle risks and symptoms of HIV to ensure maximum awareness of infection. What may begin as an illness similar to glandular fever may develop into a chronic HIV infection signified by weight loss, herpes zoster and upper respiratory tract infections amongst others. The Health Protection Agency estimates that there are 3000 new infections among men who have sex with men every year. Other risk factors include heterosexual sexual contact and sharing needles/syringes. It is crucial that doctors do not overlook symptoms for HIV in order to increase the numbers of diagnosed patients receiving treatment that is amongst the best in the world with 90% of patients having an undetectable viral load only one year after initiating treatment.

To read this article written in plain English by one of the UK’s acknowledged medical experts please click here.

About our Medical Expert

Professor Margaret Johnson is one of the most pre-eminent experts in the treatment of HIV. She set up the first and largest open-access HIV clinic in the UK at the Royal Free NHS Trust where she is currently Clinical Director of HIV services.

About totalhealth

There is no shortage of health information available on the internet and sometimes when quantity overtakes quality, there can be too much. The information on www.totalhealth.co.uk is written by senior doctors who are all experts in their chosen medical field. It is written in plain English and is intended to provide the general public with the information that they want and need to know. In an era of 'patient choice' it is important that patients, friends and relatives have access to authoritative, trustworthy medical information and www.totalhealth.co.uk provides this.

For more information please contact Natalie Awdry.
natalie@totalhealth.co.uk
01865 339402