TIGblogs - Dennis Dames

By TANEKA THOMPSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

MEN and women age 50 and over are a growing group of new HIV/AIDS victims, Health Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said.

As he gave his contribution to the 2011/2012 budget debate, Dr Minnis said new cases in this previously "immune" group grew out of relationships between older men and younger women, and vice versa.

"A new threat has emerged for persons over 50 years of age. Before we were seeing most, if not all, of our AIDS cases in the younger population. But we're now seeing AIDS cases in the 50-year-olds and older. This occurs both in male and female as a result of the older male going out with the younger female and (vice versa).

"So that group that was essentially immune yesterday is now being infected, so we're seeing a trend now in the older population."

This demographic has been left out of the Ministry of Health's targeted prevention strategies, said Dr Minnis, as adolescents have long been the targeted focus of the ministry's prevention strategies with lectures and initiatives throughout the nation's schools.

As of December 31, 2010, there were 12,095 HIV infections: 6,335 cases of AIDS and 5,760 persons who are non-AIDS but HIV positive. Of the total infections, 4,333 occurred in young adults between the ages of 15 and 44 years old.

Dr Minnis said while just 10 years ago, a positive diagnosis was considered a painful death sentence, today's treatment means those with the illness can live a long life.

At the end of December 2009 some 2,152 people were receiving antiretroviral therapy at no cost - a seven fold increase over the 300 people receiving the same treatment in 2002. The now prevalent treatment has led to a reduction in new HIV infections, a decrease in the number of new AIDS cases year-on-year, and a dramatic fall in reported AIDS-related deaths, said Dr Minnis.

Dr Minnis said only 59 persons died from the disease or AIDS related complications last year.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS therapy in the country has increased the life expectancy for victims of the disease, which adds to the total number of persons living with the disease. Other countries with less sophisticated health care systems have higher HIV/AIDS death rates and subsequently lower numbers of persons living with AIDS, which could lead to confusing statistics, Dr Minnis said. "As a result of their life expectancy we have a pseudo increase and individuals from countries that does not have a great health care system as we do. They would have a higher death rate and as a result less individuals with AIDS".

The country is also making great strides in preventing the transmission of HIV from mother to child with no reported cases last year. Antenatal care and atiretrovirals are available at no cost to HIV-positive pregnant women.

This has played a pivotal role in the decline in HIV transmission from mother to child, from 30 per cent in 1995 to less than 2 per cent in 2006, said the MP for Killarney.

The antiretroviral pharmacy at the HIV/AIDS centre supplies medication to 2,146 persons - 35 prescriptions are filled per day in the centre and 65 to 70 are filled once a week at the Infectious Diseases Clinic.

He added that more than 500 persons in Grand Bahama and Abaco who would not ordinarily have access to HIV testing were screened recently under new health care initiatives.

June 07, 2011

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