Over 1,800 HIV positive people in hiding but spreading the virus

By Shanika Sriyananda

The National STD/AIDS Control Program of the Ministry of Health is requesting the public and private sectors to encourage their employees to do HIV tests, which are offered by Government hospitals free of charge.

National STD/AIDS Control Program Director Dr. Sisira Liyanage told the Daily FT that HIV screening through a simple blood test was important to save the lives of those who were living with HIV as early detection could prolong their lives.

Citing figures of the latest 2014/2015 Annual Report of the National STD/AIDS Control Program, he said it was estimated that there were over 3,600 people living with HIV in Sri Lanka and the majority of them were in the 15 to 49 age group.

“Most of the people living with HIV/AIDS are in economically-active years. This situation affects the national economy as a significant portion of the annual health budget is spent on treating HIV/AIDS patients. This situation will also affect the productivity establishments as employees infected with the HIV virus are not productively contributing,” he said.

He said that the Ministry was spending nearly Rs. 50 million annually to provide free medicine for nearly 739 HIV positive people who were seeking treatment from Government hospitals.  

“We need the assistance of all public and private sector establishments to educate their employees about the importance of getting themselves tested for HIV/AIDS to get those who are avoiding HIV treatment into the health process to prevent spreading of the virus,” he said, adding that out of 1,732 people who have been identified as being HIV positive, only 732 were seeking regular treatment from Government hospitals.

Dr. Liyanage said that although Sri Lanka had been categorised as a low level HIV epidemic country where HIV prevalence remains less than 1% of the total population, the country was facing the risk of spreading the virus as over 1,500 HIV positive people were still hiding with no treatment.

“Most of them are unaware that they are infected with the virus. Since they are sexually active, they are spreading the virus to many,” he said, adding that some of them are hiding due to social stigma still attached to the disease.

Dr. Liyanage said that some of the HIV positive people who were avoiding HIV testing were scared of exposing their information to the public.

Emphasising the importance of doing HIV testing in the fight against HIV/AIDS, he said that the health authorities maintain 100% confidentiality about HIV positive cases.

“We give them the full guarantee that any of their information will not be divulged. When someone comes for a HIV test, we even don’t ask his or her name or address. We only give her a reference number for our reference for treatment,” he said.