Do you know your status? Sask. government urges testing for National HIV Testing Day
Province's rate of new HIV cases in 2017 was more than twice the national average
Thursday is National HIV Testing Day, and the Saskatchewan government wants you to make sure you know your status.
The purpose of the day is to improve accessibility to testing as well as increasing awareness, says Dr. Denise Werker, the deputy chief medical health officer for the province.
"We do want people to know their status so they can take measures to prevent spread but also to access treatment," Werker said. "The earlier you start treatment the better your outcomes are."
She said that 30 per cent of people in Saskatchewan are currently unaware of their HIV status. Those who aren't aware they have HIV could be spreading the disease, Werker said.
Saskatchewan has the highest HIV diagnosis rate in the country.
In 2018, 168 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in the province. That's a slight decrease from 2017, when 177 people — or 15 people per 100,000 population — were newly diagnosed. The 2017 rate was 2.4 times higher than the national infection rate.
"Everybody needs to know that there are opportunities on a regular basis to get tested," Werker said. "That would be through your physician, nurse practitioner, through public health clinics — and that testing is confidential and free."
A list of dates and locations for testing fairs and clinics is available on the Saskatchewan HIV Collaborative website.
Different types of HIV tests
Werker said result times from the fairs and clinics will vary on the type of test that is administered. A point of care test, which is done with a drop of blood from your finger, has results ready within minutes.
Werker says the blood-drawn HIV test is the "gold standard."
A dry blood spot test is also done with a prick of the finger, and involves a paper filter that catches the blood. Werker said that's the preferred method in rural Saskatchewan, because the filter paper is easily transportable and has results ready within two weeks.
"It gives a person some time to think about what they would do if they were to receive a positive test result," Werker said.
She says there is still stigma around getting tested — something that's a concern nationally.
"Despite everything that we've done, I think there is still a lot of misinformation about HIV," Werker said. "Persons who are on treatment still think that they can spread that infection. That is not true."
People who have the disease controlled by receiving treatment have a negligible to no risk of spreading the infection, she added.
"In Saskatchewan the primary risk factor is injection drug use," said Werker. "Many people will have multiple risk factors."
There has been increased funding for harm reduction in both the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Indigenous communities, she said, adding that HIV treatment medications are free in Saskatchewan.