NEW HOPE IN CITY’S HIV BATTLE
Third of Scots positive tests for virus in Glasgow
MORE than third of people who tested positive for HIV this year were from the Glasgow area, revealing that the virus epidemic in the city shows no signs of slowing down.
MORE people tested positive in Glasgow this year for HIV than anywhere else in Scotland, revealing that the blood-borne virus epidemic in the city shows now signs of slowing down.
The figures from Health Protection Scotland revealed 75 people tested positive for the virus in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board area during a period from January to September.
In Scotland, a total of 213 people tested positive for HIV for the same period.
Health Protection Scotland also estimates that 50,000 Scots have been infected with the Hepatitis C virus – and approximately, one-third of them stay in the Glasgow area.
But now some of the city’s most vulnerable people will be offered a test for blood-borne viruses in a bid to tackle Glasgow’s HIV epidemic.
Turning Point Scotland have started offering a Dried Blood Spot test to its service users who are rough sleepers battling alcohol addiction or women attending the 218 project which helps female offenders.
Previously, the service was only available to those attending the Glasgow Drug Crisis Centre, who have offered the test since November 2016.
And it’s hoped the new approach to identifying vulnerable people with bloodborne viruses including Hepatitis C and HIV, will save even more lives as the world recognises World’s Aids Day on December 1.
It also comes after we revealed yesterday the city of Glasgow has become the first in Scotland to sign the Paris Declaration on Fast Track Cities in a bid to end the AIDS epidemic.
Claire Gallagher, Turning Point Scotland Glasgow Homeless Service Manager, said: “We are an alcohol service so you don’t usually think HIV but we are breaking that silo. A lot of the drug services offer this but we are quite innovative in giving our users a chance to test.
“And if we can offer something else which is going to save a life, it is a positive thing.”
A sharp rise in the number of new cases of HIV have been identified in Glasgow’s drug injecting population which has been recognised by organisations such as Turning Point Scotland. It is also the case that last year there were 934 drug-related deaths in Scotland with that number predicted to rise.
And although many of Turning Point Scotland’s users present themselves with an alcohol addiction – they may in fact also be a poly drug user.
Claire said: “We deal with Glasgow’s most vulnerable who are rough sleepers, and people who are in drug and alcohol addiction.
“The demand on the service is huge and the demographics are changing. We are seeing a lot more younger people addicted to alcohol but the rise in street Valium in the city is huge.
“So what we have got now is a client group who are not only having alcohol addiction but they are using other substances.”
She added: “No-one chooses this lifestyle but Turning Point Scotland as an organisation just hope that we can be there for them in the time of crisis.”
Working in partnership with Waverley Care, Turning Point Scotland will offer the Dried Blood Spot test to their users which involves a prick from the finger. That test is then sent to a lab and the results are known a few weeks later. If anyone is diagnosed, they are then signposted to NHS services for treatment and support. A total of 11 people have taken the test since Turning Point Scotland began offering it a month ago.
Claire Kofman, Senior Manager for Waverley Care in Glasgow, said: “HIV is not curable but it is liveable and it is treatable. Someone diagnosed at 21 today will see retirement, it is just a question of getting onto the right medication that works for you.
“Hepatitis C didn’t always use to be easy to treat and people have that in their head. Hepatitis C doesn’t have any symptoms so you don’t know if you have got it. It is 100 per cent curable if treated with eight weeks of tablets.
“But when you start show symptoms of undiagnosed Hepatitis C, your liver will be quite damaged and at that point things are more complicated.”
The testing, however, will ensure that people will be treated as soon as possible to safeguard their health and lifespan.
Green MSP for Glasgow Patrick Harvie backed the initiative having worked in the HIV field before being elected to the Scottish Parliament. He said: “The testing and treatment options are so much more advanced now.
“We really need to overcome ignorance and stigma around these issues and give people the confidence to know that they can get tested and get treated.”
He added: “It is serious and in particular in Glasgow we have seen a recent outbreak of HIV.
“That is entirely avoidable and we need to step up the pressure for example on the UK government to allow safer facilities for drug users.
“The really positive opportunity does exists and over the next decade or so we could see the eradication of Hepatitis C in Scotland and we could see zero new HIV transmission. “
He added: “We know that these things are possible if we just make sure that the organisations working with people have got the support and resources around them to make that a reality.”
Demand on the service is huge and demographics are changing