HIV/AIDS PLEA – Doctor urges males to seek early medical attention

By Linda Straker

Director of the National Infectious Diseases Control Unit (NIDCU), Dr. Jessie Henry, says that more males are dying from HIV/AIDS in Grenada, but the situation can turn around if males decide to seek early medical intervention.

“With regards to HIV, the data is showing two things as it pertains to males – one is that they are dying from AIDS shortly after diagnosis and two they are diagnosed in the late stage of the disease,” she said in an interview, in which she also disclosed there are presently 89 persons receiving treatment through the NIDCU treatment programme and between January and September 21 new cases were diagnosed.

“During that same period we had eight deaths, most of whom were males. What we have realised is that males generally don’t take care of their health and by the time we see them it’s just too late,” Dr. Henry said, while using an example to describe how the situation is different with females.

“If, for example, a female hears that a man whom she was intimate with died from HIV, she will quickly visit the clinic or her doctor to know her status; whereas with a man, he continues having in most cases unprotected sex, pretends that nothing is wrong and hoping it will go away by some miracle,” she said.

“But it doesn’t go away, it stays in the body and without medical treatment that male will get sick and by the time he is admitted to hospital, it’s too late for the treatment to work. Yes, we have one or two who will reach the brink and return, but generally they die with it diagnosed in the late stage,” she said.

Another problem with males, Dr. Henry said, is adherence to medication. “Even when some of them are diagnosed early and treatment starts, they just don’t take it as required, and failure to comply with treatment can result in medicine not working as it should and they will get sick,” she said.

Between January and September, Grenada recorded eight HIV/AIDS deaths all of whom were males, while in 2011 and 2010 there were 14 for each year. “And almost 90 per cent were males who were diagnosed while in hospital for unclear medical problems initially or some who stopped taking treatment. It’s important for males to understand that early detection is necessary to deal with any medical problem and they should not be ashamed to visit a doctor, be it for HIV or any medical complaint,” she advised.