West of Ireland - Growing number of people when diagnosed have AIDS

[Jim Allen]

A little bit of local news, I should add that this is about the West of Ireland and it is largely a rural area.

Full news story - Irish independent:
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/growing-number-of-people-with-hiv-in-west-of-ireland-already-at-advanced-stage-of-illness-when-diagnosed-study-finds/a67301324.html

In Brief:

There are concerns over delays in diagnosing people with HIV in the west of Ireland, after a study found a growing number are at an advanced stage of the illness by the time they are aware of it.

The findings are being presented this weekend to the ESCMID Global Congress – which brings together experts in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases – in Barcelona, following a study by a team led by Galway infectious disease consultant Dr Ellen Walsh.

The study calls for the routine screening for HIV of all hospital admissions in the west and also improved access to healthcare for migrant populations

Regional differences have not been explored in Ireland up to now and the study looked at cases over 10 years in University Hospital Galway, from January 2013 to November 2023.

The authors said 69 patients were included – 49 of whom had presented since 2018.

About 50 of the patients were men. Heterosexual transmission occurred in 53.6pc of cases, while 36.2pc were among men who have sex with men.

The authors found that 75pc of advanced diagnoses before 2018 were in Irish-born people, and this declined to 53.1pc in later years.

The findings show 5.5pc died and 55.1pc required hospitalisation, particularly those of an older age. Those admitted had a prolonged length of stay, with a median of 20.5 days, and 13pc were admitted to intensive care.

They found that 75.4pc had attended a healthcare setting before diagnosis, representing “a missed testing opportunity”.