A new HIV testing initiative is aiming to improve the screening rate for the disease in the Hunter New England region.
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The free test, which can be conducted in the privacy of one’s home, does not require attendance at a health clinic.
HIV notification rates in NSW have remained relatively stable over the past six years with an average of 349 new cases diagnosed each year. Notifications within Hunter New England accounted for an average five per cent of all NSW notifications over the same period.
“Unfortunately an estimated 10 per cent of people currently living with HIV in NSW don’t know they have the infection and approximately 36 per cent of HIV diagnoses occur at a late stage of the disease,” Clinical Director of Hunter New England Health’s Sexual Health Unit Dr Nathan Ryder said.
“Late diagnosis of HIV is associated with poorer health outcomes for the individuals and also has broader implications for transmission and HIV infection.”
In an effort to improve outcomes, Hunter New England Health is partnering with non-government organisations and community groups to promote the new HIV testing initiative, known as dried blood spot testing, across the region.
The initiative aims to strengthen HIV prevention efforts by providing greater access to HIV testing for at-risk populations, particularly those who are reluctant to test for HIV in traditional settings.
Dried blood spot testing is a free, convenient, effective and confidential self-collection finger prick test for HIV that people can do in the privacy of their own homes.
“Participants only need to collect five drops of blood from a finger prick, there are no needles involved,” Dr Ryder said.
“The sample is then sent via the post to a pathology lab for analysis. The results are sent back to the sender without the need to attend a health service.”
If a dried blood spot test result suggests a client might have HIV, a nurse will make contact to provide support and organise the next steps to confirm the result.
The dried blood sample test for HIV is available to men who have sex with men or people from Africa or Asia and their sexual partners.
Those who are at-risk of other sexually transmitted diseases or who are concerned about their sexual health should still periodically visit their local doctor or sexual health clinic for a full sexual health check-up in addition to any dried blood spot testing.
“The dried blood spot testing initiative has the potential to increase HIV testing rates among at-risk populations and further contribute to Hunter New England Health’s efforts to achieve the virtual elimination of HIV in NSW by 2020.”
Testing kits can be ordered via:
www.hivtest.health.nsw.gov.au and are sent free of charge to the recipient’s homes in discreet packaging. Samples are returned free of charge via post for analysis and results can be provided via phone or text message.
HIV at a glance:
- There were an estimated more than 25,000 people living with HIV in Australia in 2015. About 10 per cent of these people were unaware of their diagnosis.
- HIV notification rates in Australia experienced a steady decline between 1987 to 1999.
- Notifications in Australia increased by 48 per cent from 720 notifications in 1999 to 1065 in 2012.
- Over the past decade state and national government released a number of revised HIV strategies to address the increasing rate of notifications.
- HIV notification rates in NSW have remained relatively stable at an average of 349 each year over the past six years.
- Notifications within Hunter New England accounted for an average five per cent of all NSW notifications over the same period.
- In 2016, 36 per cent of all HIV diagnoses were classified as late diagnoses.
- With early diagnosis and treatment of HIV we can expect people to live near normal life spans and reduce the risk of transmission close to zero.
Opinion: Dried Blood Spot Testing – a quick and effective way to save lives
More than 70 million people have been infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, and about 35 million have died worldwide in the past 30 years.
But the emergence of new and effective treatments over the past decade have meant that people with HIV can now live full and long lives.
Recent evidence shows that people who begin HIV treatment early in their infection have better health outcomes than those who begin HIV treatment at a later stage.
HIV notification rates in NSW have remained relatively stable over the past six years with an average of 349 new cases diagnosed each year. Notifications within Hunter New England accounted for an average five per cent of all NSW notifications over the same period.
“Unfortunately an estimated 10 per cent of people currently living with HIV in NSW don’t know they have the infection and approximately 36 per cent of HIV diagnoses occur at a late stage of the disease,” Clinical Director of Hunter New England Health’s Sexual Health Unit Dr Nathan Ryder said.
“Late diagnosis of HIV is associated with poorer health outcomes for the individuals and also has broader implications for transmission and HIV infection.”
In an effort to improve outcomes, NSW Health is piloting an additional HIV testing strategy to minimise the time from HIV infection to diagnosis using dried blood spot testing.
As part of this strategy, Hunter New England Health is partnering with non-government organisations and community groups to promote the initiative across the region.
The initiative aims to strengthen HIV prevention efforts by providing greater access to HIV testing for at-risk populations, particularly those who are reluctant to test for HIV in traditional settings due to concerns about being stigmatised, geographical isolation or other barriers.
Dried blood spot testing is a free, convenient, effective and confidential self-collection finger prick test for HIV that people can do in the privacy of their own homes.
Participants only need to collect five drops of blood from a finger prick, there are no needles involved.
The sample is then sent via post to a pathology lab for analysis. The results are sent back to the sender without the need to attend a health service.
If a dried blood spot test result suggests a client might have HIV, a nurse will make contact to provide support and organise the next steps to confirm the result.
The dried blood sample test for HIV is available to men who have sex with men or people from Africa or Asia and their sexual partners.
The eligibility criteria for accessing dried blood spot testing is expected to be extended to additional populations in the second half of 2017.
While dried blood spot testing provides a convenient option for HIV testing, it does not test for any sexually transmitted infections or blood-borne viruses other than HIV.
Those who are at-risk of other sexually transmitted diseases or who are concerned about their sexual health should still periodically visit their local doctor or sexual health clinic for a full sexual health check-up in addition to any dried blood spot testing.
Dried blood spot testing is particularly beneficial for patients who are concerned about known barriers to HIV testing in conventional health settings. These include embarrassment, cost, transport, concerns about needles or traditional venepuncture sampling.
Those living in rural and remote communities or with poor access to health services will also benefit from easy access to HIV testing.
The dried blood spot testing initiative has the potential to increase HIV testing rates among at-risk populations and further contribute to the Hunter New England Health’s efforts to achieve the virtual elimination of HIV in NSW 2020.
Testing kits can be ordered via: www.hivtest.health.nsw.gov.au and are sent free of charge to the recipient’s homes in discreet packaging. Samples are returned free of charge via post for analysis and results can be provided via phone or text message.
