HIV/AIDS: Ilha Brava registered two new cases and one death in 2022 – Health delegate

The Health Officer of Ilha Brava announced today that the island has registered two more new cases of HIV/AIDS, with one more result still pending, and one death in 2022.

Hélder Pires was speaking to Inforpress as part of the commemorations of the World Day for the Fight against HIV/AIDS, marked today, and took the opportunity to reinforce the concern regarding the prevalence rate on the island.

According to the doctor, the island currently has 52 cases, stressing that the situation "is worrying" and that, to date, with eight months at the helm of the Brava Health Department, he has still not been able to locate all the patients.

As for the prevalence rate, the official took as an example the island of Fogo, which is the closest to Brava, with more than 30,000 inhabitants, and which currently has 102 patients with HIV, as he informed.

In this sense, he stressed that Brava has five times more cases than the neighboring island, thus demonstrating the “seriousness” of the situation and the need for society to take other measures in relation to certain behaviors.

However, this leader informed that there has been an increase in the demand for health services by patients to carry out HIV tests in recent months, compared to the beginning of the year.

And, according to the data he announced, it showed that in January the analysis laboratory at the police station had carried out 17 tests, in February it carried out 11, but in August it increased to 48 tests, followed by 50 in September and 89 in October. , thus demonstrating a “great increase”.

For the doctor, this can be seen as a “concern and the beginning of awareness” of society in relation to this problem.

But, he warned, just carrying out the test is not enough and the only thing that must be done is “press the key that people have to protect themselves, avoid risky behavior”, namely, avoid multiple partners, among others.

Regarding treatment follow-up, the doctor appealed to patients to seek out the services of the police station to undergo treatment, recalling that every patient who has already been diagnosed with HIV must undergo treatment so as not to jeopardize their own health status anymore. patient and society.

And, in this regard, he warned that the treatment is not only based on medication, but also a follow-up by the Psychology Service of the Health Department, tests to monitor the evolution of medications, among other requirements.

Asked about what the delegate and his team have or intend to do, he informed that they have been trying to follow up in the field, but that they have encountered “some constraints”, such as changing residence or contact, cases in which patients were children at the time of diagnosis and now cannot identify them, and migration to other islands.

In this sense, he appeals to patients, the children's parents, to seek him out and follow the treatment in order to "control the virus and the damage" it causes to the immune system, but also as a way of "protecting" society and the environment in that is inserted.

At Brava, the day will be marked with a health fair, organized by the Health Department and which will take place at Praça Eugénio Tavares, in Nova Sintra, and some lectures and open conversations in schools.

World AIDS Day is celebrated annually on December 1st, with the aim of raising awareness and supporting those who suffer from this disease and honoring those who died infected.