HIV THE FACTS

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

It is a retrovirus, which invades your body’s genetic material of cells. Normally, your body’s immune system is able to fight off viral infections, but HIV is unique – over time it slowly destroys the body’s immune system.

According to The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/ Aids (UNAIDS), there were approximately 36.7 million people worldwide living with HIV/Aids at the end of 2015. Of these, 1.8 million were children (under 15 years old). An estimated 2.1 million individuals worldwide became newly infected with HIV in 2015.

Along with international trends, there has been a steady increase in the number of HIV diagnoses in NZ.

Last year, 244 people were diagnosed with the virus – and 27 of those were women.

The total number of diagnoses in 2016 was 244, up from 224 in 2015.

Since 1998, there have been 166 births by women known to be HIV-infected prior to the time of delivery in NZ, but none of the babies were infected.

However, for the 17 children born since mid-2015, it is too soon to be sure, as acquired HIV cannot be ruled out definitively until the child is more than one year old.

In 2016, two women were diagnosed with HIV through antenatal testing. The majority of pregnant women in NZ are now routinely tested.

Pharmac data shows there were 2278 adults (1898 men, 380 women, and 16 children) receiving subsidised antiretroviral therapy (ART) at the end of June 2016.