Medication works, but Regina doctor says HIV testing needs to be normalized

An HIV diagnosis is not what it used to be.

It’s not a death sentence and, according to a Regina doctor, it’s hardly even life-changing.

“When we see new patients who are newly diagnosed, we explain the only fundamental difference in their lives on a day-to-day basis is the need to take a small pill once a day that is exceedingly well tolerated both in the short term and the long term,” said Dr. Alex Wong, a specialist in infectious diseases.

“HIV has largely become chronic illness in 2019.”

That small, once-a-day tablet is called BIKTARVY and is used to treat HIV-1 in adults. This month, it became accessible under the Saskatchewan Drug Plan and the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program.

However, people will only take their medication if they know they need treatment. The disease needs to be caught early.

HIV infection rates in Saskatchewan more than double those nationwide at 15.5 cases per capita, something Wong attributes to high usage of injection drugs.

And even though Saskatchewan has the highest infection rates in Canada, one in five people with the disease in the province don’t know it.

Wong blames that on stigma and the link people draw between HIV and “bad behaviour.”

But on The Greg Morgan Morning Show, Wong said anybody can get the disease and making testing seem routine is key.

“(It’s important) to recognize the fact that HIV infection is something that can happen to anybody through sexual transmission, sometimes accidentally — although rarely — through needle sticks,” Wong said.

Three-quarters of new HIV cases are caused through the accidental transmission of the virus by those unaware they’re carrying it, he says.

Wong said everybody should get tested regularly. People who are more at risk, like those who use injection drugs, should be getting tested every six to 12 months.

“It’s extremely important to diagnose people early and to be able to get people on treatment,” he said, “because we know when people are on treatment and they’re taking their medications … there’s no risk of transmission to others.”