Antonio Antela, physician: “Men over 50 are the most represented group in late HIV diagnosis”

In the field of healthcare, the ability to prevent disease is essential to living a long life and, above all, one that is pleasant and peaceful. In this context, Antonio Antela, MD, president of the Galician Interdisciplinary AIDS Society and coordinator of the HIV Unit at the University Hospital Complex of Santiago de Compostela, gave an interview to La Voz de la Salud (The Voice of Health) in which he spoke in depth about HIV.

“How can it be determined who transmitted the infection to another person?” the reporter asked at the outset. “Through a phylogenetic study. Samples from the HIV-positive partners that have been stored, and in these cases that sample was compared with the one from the other person who acquired the infection,” the physician explained.

Antela then addressed the recent rise in sexually transmitted infections. “It is true that we have not managed to reduce the number of HIV transmissions to zero. Last year there were just over 3,000 new diagnoses [in Spain]. In reality, HIV has not increased. We are seeing similar figures that have been slowly declining over recent years,” he noted.

Continuing the interview, the doctor emphasized the importance of public awareness about the risks associated with an infection such as HIV. “People still associate HIV with prostitution or substance use. This lack of risk perception leads to late diagnosis. People do not go in to get tested,” he said.

The physician stated that men over the age of 50 make up the segment of the population most likely to receive a late diagnosis. “They do not perceive themselves to be at risk, they do not get tested, and they are only diagnosed when they come in and are hospitalized for an opportunistic illness.”

“Getting an HIV test is never a bad idea”

For Antonio Antela, getting tested for HIV is, at the very least, advisable. “If you do not have a stable partner, you are at risk of acquiring HIV. That is why it is important to protect yourself during sexual encounters when you do not have a steady partner, in order to avoid infection. And from time to time, it would not hurt for all of us to get an HIV test.”

To conclude, he addressed the public directly. “People living with HIV can have full lives and lead completely normal lives in every respect, including having unprotected sex, if they are taking antiretroviral treatment correctly. For that reason, they should not be stigmatized. And HIV still exists, with new patients diagnosed every year,” he concluded.

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