A free HIV screening experiment in pharmacies is underway in six pharmacies in Menton (Alpes-Maritimes) and the surrounding area, with the aim of increasing the number of locations to make the gesture commonplace, announced those involved in the fight against the virus. .
In 2019, the Alpes-Maritimes had already been the scene, with Paris, of the experimentation of anonymous screening, without prescription and free for socially insured people in analysis laboratories, generalized with the HIVTEST system in 2022.
This fall, the experiment is extended under the same conditions to pharmacies thanks to a collaboration between the local association “Objectif Sida Zéro”, the territorial professional health community (CPTS) of the French Riviera and the Regional Coordination Committee of the fight against HIV (Corevih Paca-Est).
These are rapid HIV diagnostic orientation tests (Trod), carried out using a drop of blood taken from the tip of a finger, which make it possible to detect the virus in 30 minutes from three months after the exposure to the virus.
The Trod has been available since 2015 as a self-test, but the kit costs between 10 and 30 euros, and dialogue with a caregiver capable of informing and directing patients who are sometimes far from healthcare structures remains essential.
“We must find new ways so that screening is a regular, commonplace, local action,” explains to AFP Erwann Le Hôpresident of Objectif Sida Zéro, recalling that the French have now become accustomed to Covid tests and vaccines at the pharmacy.
According to estimates from Public Health France, nearly 11,000 people in France live with HIV without knowing it. In the Alpes-Maritimes, around a hundred people discover their HIV status each year, and this figure has not decreased since 2021.
However, pharmacies see four million people pass through each day, argues Cyril Colombani, vice-president of the CPTS and one of the pharmacists involved in the project.
Marked by the richness of the training provided upstream by associations, he carried out his first test on Thursday, with a young man in a relationship for two years, who had not taken a test for years.
“Science is advancing, treatments exist. Today, there is a much more serious problem than having a positive result, it is not testing yourself,” he insists.
If the experience is conclusive, the objective is to extend it to more isolated areas of the department, where it is often easier to find a pharmacy than an analysis laboratory.
