Late HIV diagnosis in Uganda

Patients in Uganda who have HIV are being diagnosed with the virus late, a new study has found.

According to investigators at the Mbarara University Teaching Hospital in Uganda, 40 per cent of people with HIV are not having their infections diagnosed until they are already ill or have developed Aids.

Writing in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, the researchers explained that treatment for HIV is free in Uganda for patients who are at an advanced stage of HIV.

Nevertheless, many were still not getting treatment when it is necessary, with men and older people more likely to be diagnosed late than women and younger individuals.

The researchers said that there needs to be changes from the current system of "selective treatment of patients with late-stage disease".

"In an era when highly active antiretroviral therapy is not only free but also widely available in Uganda, we found that 40 per cent of patients in a large HIV clinic had late-stage HIV disease at their initial clinic visit," they added.

There are currently 940,000 people living with HIV in Uganda, according to Avert.

News brought to you by Global Health TV, connecting health communities