By David Fray

The Channel 4 drama series It’s A Sin has brought the early days of the HIV epidemic to a mainstream TV audience. It is a difficult, but rewarding, watch.

It’s not all gloom and doom though.

I think World AIDS Day should be renamed World HIV Day. You don’t hear the acronym AIDS anymore. AIDS, more often than not in modern times, is only associated with people who are diagnosed very late, or who do not access treatment.

It’s A Sin shows how things used to be. It is not like that anymore. There is a whole host of different treatment combinations; doctors work out which ones suit their patients best.

Most people now just take one simple pill a day, and can be confident knowing that their HIV is suppressed.

Effective treatment has been with us for 25 years now, with continued research happening at a great pace. New injectable medication that lasts for six months will soon be made available to people who struggle to take a daily tablet.

I am really pleased that It’s A Sin was commissioned. In today’s climate of Covid, people’s minds are focused on a virus that is serious and can kill. The programme has allowed people living with HIV (PLWH) to talk more openly about being HIV positive, and have the conversations that reassure those whose knowledge about HIV is not up to date.

Compared to the 1980s this is what we now know;

• Treatment is so successful that a person on effective treatment only sees their HIV consultant once a year, and they give a quick blood test twice a year to make sure the treatment is stable.

• The side effects of antiretroviral therapy are negligible, now that scientists know exactly how to stop the virus from replicating.

• If you are not living with HIV, and think you may be at risk, PrEP, a preventative pill, is so successful that people can have the sex they want, safe in the knowledge that they will not become HIV positive. It is available now, so ask for it if you find condoms difficult to use.

• We now know that a person with an undetectable viral load – achieved with effective treatment – cannot pass on HIV sexually to their partners, even if condoms are not used, and even if PrEP is not used. Look out for the phrase U=U (Undetectable=Untransmittable), and share this information with people. This is fantastic news, as many people find the barrier methods of safer sex inhibit sexual intimacy.

• Testing regularly and early diagnosis are two key factors in living a long and healthy life with HIV. It has been proven that PLWH can live a normal life expectancy.

We celebrate the lives of PLWH in our More to Me Than HIV exhibition. People are starting to break the chains of stigma, and realise that there is no shame in having a virus. Viruses are a part of nature, and we are all having to learn to live with them.

Visit www.moretomethanHIV.life for further information.