New hiv infections on the decline but not fast enough: Aidsfonds
The number of new cases of hiv infection in the Netherlands is declining, but too slowly, campaign group Aidsfonds said on Thursday.
The Netherlands is not making enough of the options open to it to end the hiv epidemic, the organisation said.
Last year, there were 820 new cases of hiv in the Netherlands, compared with 865 in 2015 and 900 in 2014. Some 22,900 people in the Netherlands are thought to be suffering from hiv.
‘Fewer people in the Netherlands are dying from Aids, and those who do are nearly all people who got medical attention too late, did not know they had Aids and had a weakened immune system,’ according to the hiv monitoring foundation.
In particular, the Netherlands should be focusing on the early identification of hiv infections and starting treatment early, the Aidsfonds said. This, the organisation said, means that the hiv prevention drug PrEP should be included in the basic health insurance package.
In 2015, the Amsterdam health board began a three year trial of the drug using 370 gay man and transgenders with a high risk of catching HIV.
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