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2008 SERIES

EPISODE 8 - Voluntary Counselling & testing

The TeamAdolescents & ARVsHerpes & HIVCelebrities & HIVSero-disordant coupleRelationships & sex Breast, bottle or cup?VCTHate crimesMDR & XDR TBCircumcisionGender violenceInfants on ARVsSexual negotiationsSocial grantsCervical cancerSubstance abusePMTCTFarm workers & HIVPEPTeen pregnancyDisclosureNSPStigma and predjudiceWater and sanitationHuman rights

Anyone can get HIV. It's how you live with it that matters.

Life is full of uncertainties. There is actually so little that we can control. But knowing our HIV status is something that is in our control. What's more, knowing our status means that if we are HIV positive, we can start treatment and have a better chance at a full, healthy life with HIV.

Effective treatment of HIV is completely time dependent. The earlier the disease is picked up, the sooner the treatment can start and the better the chance of a full, healthy life with HIV.

Denial is still a huge factor leading to many people dying of HIV/AIDS in this country, and this week in Siyayinqoba Beat It! we examine the benefits of getting tested regularly.

We follow the story of Ian Phillips, a vociferous HIV awareness campaigner and ANC functionary, who became aware of his HIV status too late and died soon afterwards. We talk to Ian's family in the Eastern Cape and try to discover the reasons why he didn't get tested sooner, and instead lived in denial of the disease for too long.

Read what Ian's family had to say about his untimely death.

We also attend an open VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) day in the Free State and talk to various people about why they are getting tested and how they feel about it.

Read the transcript covering the Harmony testing drive here.

One of the Siyayinqoba Beat It! Community Journalists, Tumi Moleko, volunteers to get tested on camera at the New Start Clinic in Johannesburg, and she shares her experiences of the testing process with us.

Download the transcript of Tumi's experiences here.

The key message gained from this episode is simple: early testing and knowledge of your HIV status can save your life; and as more and more people are encouraged to be tested, some of the stigma and discrimination around HIV will be laid to rest.

Voluntary counselling and testing

Ian Phillips

Harmony VCT Campaign

Tumi after her HIV test

 

IT'S A FACT
Whether you are HIV positive or negative, knowing your HIV status is an important step to remaining healthy.
You should receive counselling before taking a test and your test should always be confidential. A rapid test will give you a result in 15 minutes and in the event of a positive result, a further confirmatory test is done.
You should also get counselling after the test to assist with disclosure issues.
If you have had unprotected sex, health workers recommend that you re-test after six weeks.
In the six weeks following infection, you can transmit the virus to others, but the test will show up as negative. This is known as the window period in which your immune system has not developed antibodies to HIV. The rapid test detects these antibodies which is why you would test negative during this period.
If you test positive, you need to have a CD4 count done. Your CD4 count is the measure of the strength of your immune system.
Doctors recommend starting ART (antiretroviral treatment) when your CD4 count is below 350, and many of our neighbouring countries, such as Lesotho, have adopted this.
In South Africa, government protocol allows ART to start at CD4 200 or below. The result has been that many people only start much later than this, when they are already very ill with life-threatening diseases and have a CD4 count below 50.
The National Department of Health is considering allowing public sector patients to start ART at CD4 250, but no formal announcement has been made.
ART is a preventative treatment and can prevent HIV from progressing to AIDS. Starting ART at the right time can prevent you from getting AIDS related diseases, but in order to make a difference, ART needs to start before you get sick.