December 1st is World AIDS Day. The opportunity to remember that Martinique is one of the French territories most affected by the virus. Nearly 1,200 people are affected by it on the island.
AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease that is still very present in Martinique. Every year, around fifty people discover that they are HIV positive. They are mostly middle-aged individuals. They are between 25 and 49 years old.
Women are less affected. According to Public Health France, in 2023, 74% of HIV tests with a positive result concerned men.
If heterosexual relations are responsible for the majority of contaminations, sexual relations between men represent 43% of contaminations.
There is hope for an AIDS-free Martinique in 2030. This is the screening rate. More Martinicans take an HIV test regularly. This is a great improvement even if there are still nearly 400 people in our territory who do not know that they are HIV positive.
The Regional Health Agency reminds that the HIV or human immunodeficiency virus is the causative agent of AIDS.
It is a virus that attacks cells of the human immune system and destroys them or impairs their functioning. Infection with this virus results in the progressive weakening of the immune system, which leads to immune deficiency.
“Immunocompromised people are much more vulnerable to a range of infections, most of which are extremely rare in people without immune deficiencies.”underlines the public health agency.
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