World AIDS Day

Thanks to effective treatment, HIV-infected people today can live to a ripe old age, but there is still no method to completely eradicate the virus from the body. At the same time, risky sexual intercourse causes many other risks that are often forgotten, experts warn.

Prof. Brigid Knysz, Prof. Andrzej Gladysz and Dr. Bartosz Szetela from the Department of Infectious Diseases, Liver Diseases and Acquired Immune Deficiencies at the University of Medical Sciences (UMW) spoke as medical experts at the "Wroc.win.with.HIV" conference, organized by the City of Wroclaw and the Society for Family Development in Wroclaw under the honorary patronage of the National AIDS Center. The meeting was organized on November 30, the eve of World AIDS Day, celebrated on December 1.

Prof. Andrzej Gladysz, a specialist in internal medicine and infectious diseases, former long-time head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Liver Diseases and Acquired Immune Deficiencies at the University of Warsaw, as well as an expert in viral hepatitis and HIV/AIDS infection, warned that there is no safe sexual contact. This is because anyone can be an asymptomatic carrier, be unaware of it and infect their partners.

- It's important not to treat HIV infection as a disease entity that doesn't affect me," said Prof. Gladysz. - Any intimate contact with a person with whom one is not in an ongoing relationship should be treated as risky behavior.

Recalling the beginnings of official reports on HIV infection (1981), the expert noted how the profile of the potential infected person was changing. Initially, the HIV/AIDS problem was thought to affect mainly homosexuals, then cases of infection were diagnosed in hemophilia patients. Today it is known that anyone can become infected. According to Prof. Andrzej Gladysz, HIV testing should be standard in certain groups. This includes pregnant women.

Since the advent of the first antiretroviral drugs, HIV-infected people can go a long time without having symptoms of AIDS, living to a relatively healthy old age.

- This does not mean that they have recovered," stressed Prof. Brigid Knysz, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Liver Diseases and Acquired Immune Deficiencies at the UMW. - Antiretroviral treatment is indeed extremely effective, because it inhibits viral replication. However, if it is interrupted, the virus begins to multiply again. So we have achieved a lot, but in the future we want to treat so that we get rid of the virus completely.

Prof. Brigid Knysz reported promising research in this direction, the results of which are yet to be seen. She added that HIV infection can be combined with infections from other viruses, transmitted by a breach of tissue continuity, such as hepatitis A, B, C. In her opinion, HIV-infected people should get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B and test themselves for hepatitis C. In addition, all those who engage in risky sexual behavior should take an annual HIV test.

Dr. Bartosz Szetela, an assistant professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases, Liver Diseases and Acquired Immune Deficiencies at UMW, explained during the conference that we need to forget the perceptions regarding HIV-infected people that have prevailed for years.

- A person who has contracted HIV is not someone who has dozens of partners in a year," he said. - Often these are people who have been in a relationship for a short time and did not get tested when they entered the relationship.- A person who has contracted HIV is not someone who has dozens of partners in a year," he said. - Often these are people who have been in a relationship for a short time and did not get tested when they entered the relationship.

The expert admitted that in Poland we still do not know how many people die of AIDS. Official numbers are underestimated because not all cases are tested. He also cautioned not to talk only about HIV, but sexually transmitted infections. Syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydiosis - these, too, are asymptomatic for a long time. And you can get infected in a trivial way: by kissing (syphilis) or in a steam sauna when you sit where an infected person has previously sat.

***

The aim of the "Wroc.win.with.HIV" campaign is to spread knowledge about the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections through integrated information and education activities implemented in Wroclaw high schools, urban spaces and social media. The campaign is implemented by the Department of Health and Social Affairs of the Wrocław City Hall. The project is co-financed by UNICEF.