Bajans waiting too late for HIV tests

BARBADIANS ARE STILL AVOIDING HIV/AIDS tests and many are dying of the disease at a stage before treatment can make a difference.

A prominent figure in the AIDS fight, Dr Dale Babb, made this complaint on Monday.

She said many persons only discovered they had HIV/AIDS when they fell ill and sought medical treatment.

"We have several persons who have never been tested and are unaware of their status," she told the media. "They may be positive. They may be negative."

And addressing an AIDS conference at the Blue Horizon Hotel she stated: "We still have persons being diagnosed at a very late stage of HIV infection and many dying at that stage before treatment could effect a difference."

According to Babb, Barbados had 3 110 HIV positive cases, a total of 1 931 AIDS cases and some 1 283 deaths from the disease.

Babb, clinical medical officer with the National HIV/AIDS Programme in the Ministry of Health, told reporters: "We are still seeing about 60 per cent of persons coming (for diagnosis) at a late stage . . . "

Babb admitted that the shift towards what she called provider-initiated testing and counselling was being influenced by factors such as an increase in the number of persons living with HIV.

Source:www.nationnews.com