There is new treatment available for those living with HIV which reduces the amount of virus in the bloodstream to the point where it can’t be sexually transmitted to others.
Officials with the Simcoe Muskoka Health Unit are celebrating this medical advancement.
“People living with HIV who maintain an effective treatment plan can get the level of the virus to a very low and ‘undetectable’ level. This means that they live a healthy life, and they cannot sexually transmit the virus to others,” said Dr. Colin Lee, Associate Medical Officer of Health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
The number of new cases of HIV locally varies between three and 23 per year. That seems low, but health officials say one in seven infected people don’t know they have the virus, and that’s why testing is so necessary.
To be tested see your health care provider.
