Number of people with HIV and AIDS remains steady in central Lancashire

NHS Central Lancashire is pledging its support for World AIDS Day (1 December 2010) as the latest local figures are published.

The number of people living with HIV and AIDS in central Lancashire has remained steady, at 180, with 21 new cases in 2009. Based on Health Protection Agency estimates there may be a further 60 people in Central Lancashire living with HIV who are unaware they have the virus.

The development of effective treatment means that HIV is now a long term condition. People diagnosed with HIV today can expect a near normal life expectancy if they start treatment early and take it correctly.

The tolerability of treatments has also dramatically improved. Complex regimes with many side-effects have been replaced with just one or two pills, with fewer side-effects. One pill a day is now the initial treatment for someone newly diagnosed with HIV. This means that today someone who is diagnosed early and responds well to treatment will have a very different experience to someone who has been living with HIV for some time and gone through many different treatment options.