Within the scope of the ‘Health in Nilüfer’ meetings organized by Nilüfer Municipality, “Are We Aware Enough of HIV/AIDS?” A seminar was held under the title:
Nilüfer Municipality Dr. Nilüfer Deputy Mayor Okan Şahin as well as many citizens who wanted to be informed attended the program at Ceyhun İrgil Health Museum. In the program, Bursa Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Prof. Dr. Emin Halis Akalın and academician Assoc. Dr. Uğur Önal shared important information on the subject.
THE NUMBER OF CASES IS TENDING TO INCREASE IN Türkiye
Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Bursa Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Dr. Emin Halis Akalın emphasized that although there are places in the world where HIV cases tend to decrease, the picture in Türkiye is different. Reminding that this disease is a very important epidemic that has been going on since the 1980s, Akalın said, “While the number of new infections is decreasing in a significant part of the world, unfortunately the numbers in Türkiye show an upward curve. According to official records, approximately 60 thousand people have been diagnosed, but this number needs to be doubled, including those who are unaware of their status. We now call these individuals ‘individuals living with HIV’ instead of ‘HIV positive’. Because with today’s effective treatments, the life expectancy of these people is not living with HIV.” “It has reached the same level as individuals,” he said.
Thanking Nilüfer Municipality for showing awareness on such an important issue, Akalın emphasized that the Voluntary Consultancy and Testing Center within the municipality plays a vital role in preventing stigma and discrimination by offering anonymous testing.
“THE MOST COMMON WAY OF TRANSMISSION IS UNPROTECTED CONTACT”
Sharing information on the ways of transmission of the disease and methods of protection, Assoc. Dr. Uğur Önal touched upon misperceptions in society and the power of treatment. Providing information about the ways of transmission, Önal said, “The most common way of transmission is unprotected sexual contact. However, HIV cannot be transmitted by shaking hands, hugging, breathing the same air or using shared cutlery. If an individual uses his/her medications regularly and the virus is reduced to a level where the virus cannot be detected in the blood, it is no longer considered contagious. This situation both protects public health and allows individuals to have children and continue their normal lives.”
Academics reminded that early diagnosis is the most powerful weapon to both prevent the collapse of the immune system and stop the spread in society. The seminar ended with the academics answering questions from the participants.
