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Taking an HIV test is crucial if you have the infection; treatment can save lives. With 1.5m new infections every year across the globe, more needs to be done.

Taking an HIV test is now routinely offered at sexual health clinics across the UK. It makes sense to take a HIV test in the West because of the medical treatment available. But an interview in the Guardian newspaper with Aids scientist and epidemiologist Elisabeth Pisani said that liberal fears of appearing judgmental are blinding us to the truth about HIV and Aids.

HIV Test – Scientist Speaks Out

The scientist told the newspaper that Aids cases across the world were on the increase. When she first started out in her career, there were 1.5m cases of Aids, within a year, that figure grew to 30m estimated to be infected with HIV. Now it’s thought the global figure is 40m, which equates to 1.5m infections every year. The UK maybe better positioned to help those who are revealed to be positive after an HIV test, but Elisabeth Pisani believes governments could do more by concentrating on prevention of the infection, rather than spending huge sums of money treating HIV-positive people.

HIV Test: Losing the Fight against Aids

Many people don’t believe they need to take an HIV test because it’s seen as an STD that is very much in decline – but the global statistics clearly say otherwise. $50bn has been budgeted by America to fight HIV and Aids in developing countries over the next five years. One and a half million Africans have been put on life-saving drugs after a positive HIV test. But Pisani believes such strategies are in fact losing the fight against Aids and wasting money.

HIV Test Saves Lives in the West

Taking an HIV test is of course crucial, especially when there are treatments and measures you can take to safeguard your health and future. But the scientist is quite adamant about what causes the spread of HIV and Aids. The cover of her book, The Wisdom of Whores, that criticises the policies has the catch-line: “HIV is mostly about people doing stupid things in the pursuit of pleasure or money. We’re just not allowed to say so.” The scientist and former journalist believes governments and NGOs are too politically correct, wasting time over semantics rather than addressing the issue at hand.

Preventative Measures

Taking an HIV test in the UK is of course different to taking one in Africa. Pisani believes there are two Aids epidemics: Africa and the rest of the world. She believes Africa’s heterosexual couples are at risk, but she says, in the rest of the world those more likely to need a HIV test are drug users, sex workers and gay men. It’s a controversial stand-point, but the Guardian states that targeting these high-risk groups with preventative measures, such as condom use and clean needles, works. Pisani believes it’s time to stop pandering to political correctness in order to knock the epidemic on the head.

Speak To CityDoc About An HIV Test

CityDoc gives you all the medical services you need, right in the heart of London. With a clinic in Harley Street and one on Moorgate, this is the ideal GP practice for busy Londoners. Offering individual care, and a corporate health services to businesses, CityDoc provides a comprehensive healthcare service, with rapid referrals to specialists where necessary. Whether you’re looking for a private doctor, an STD test or other sexual health tests, or you just need inoculations before your next holiday, CityDoc can help. Call for an appointment on 0207 935 6260 (West End) or 0207 256 8668 (City) or just fill in our online form for more information.