The Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) are offering free HIV screenings on Thursday, on the occasion of World AIDS Day. Anyone who comes to the main entrance of the establishment will be able to take a test anonymously.
Information stands will be available to the public. The HUG will also discuss the arrival in Switzerland of a new treatment against HIV by intramuscular injections which has already been offered to certain patients since April.
In Switzerland, 17,350 people are HIV-positive. In recent years, however, the number of new reported cases has been steadily decreasing. In 2021, 318 new cases were thus identified, compared to an average of 1,300 per year in the 1990s. This decrease is explained in particular by the fact that many HIV-positive people know their serological status through screening.
However, a certain number of people are still screened at a late stage of HIV infection, thus increasing the risk of sequelae and mortality. Prevention and screening remain essential tools in the fight against this disease, note the HUG.
“Young people to attract”
This day also aims to attract young people, for whom HIV is almost a historical disease, since the first cases of AIDS date back more than 40 years.
For Alexandra Calmy, doctor in charge of the HIV Unit at HUG, interviewed in 12:30 p.m., young people must feel concerned: “For example among men who have sex with other men, who are particularly at risk, there are a 10% who learn the diagnosis between 15-24 years old and 30% between 25 and 30 years old.”
The price of screening, between 44 and 96 francs, even if discounts are granted in places, can also be an obstacle for young people.
ats/lan