January 25, 2017
Out-dated HIV policy needs refreshing.
The AIDS Foundation wants New Zealand to catch up with the rest of the world and start treatment as soon as HIV is detected.
Executive Director Jason Myers says this country has an out-dated policy of denying access to HIV medicines until a person’s immune system has been damaged.
That was developed a couple of decades ago when HIV treatments were fairly toxic, but new drugs aren’t as tough on the body and the global scientific consensus supports starting treatment as soon as possible.
He says while Maori rates of HIV infection are relatively low, there’s no room for complacency.
"Maori who are then diagnosed with HIV are often being diagnosed late. And what that shows us, is that potentially, Maori are not testing often enough or when they are testing they are turning up with close to an AIDS diagnosis because their immune system is so suppressed, they could have been living with HIV for a number of years before that's found," says Jason Myers the Executive Director of New Zealand AIDS Foundation.
FULL INTERVIEW WITH JASON MYERS
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