VIRUS NOT A DEATH SENTENCE ANYMORE

HIV is a lifelong infection spread through sexual contact and blood – and without treatment it can progress to Aids.

It targets the immune system, increasing the risk of other infections.

No cure is available for HIV or Aids.

But people with HIV in countries with good healthcare rarely

There is currently no cure for HIV or Aids.

But advances in medicine mean people living with HIV in countries with good access to healthcare very rarely develop Aids once they are receiving treatment.

With the right treatment, life expectancy for a person who carries the virus is now approaching that of a person who tests negative.

Gareth, who made his international debut in 1995, winning 100 caps for Wales as a rugby union star and four as a rugby league player, retired in 2011.

Gareth, an ITV pundit at the Rugby World Cup starting on Friday, added: “People need to know it’s develop Aids as long as they have ongoing antiretroviral therapy.

Gareth takes just one tablet containing four medications a day.

His HIV is now under control to the point it is “undetectable”, making it is impossible to pass on by any means, including blood, saliva or semen. OK to have a sexual health test. You don’t need to be gay to have an HIV test.

“The amount of people who don’t know their status is frightening, it’s got to be in the millions. People need to be tested and to know.

“Don’t be afraid of taking the test and it being positive, be afraid of not knowing if you’re HIVpositive or not.

“It’s all right to be scared of the test, but it’s better to know than be in doubt.

“If you don’t know, you can’t look after yourself or those you love.

“Aids is what HIV progresses to if you don’t know you’ve got it, and the later you leave it the worse it gets.”