June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. But it’s also a time to talk about some of the issues that affect people, like HIV. “There’s still a stigma around HIV in the community. It’s something we see every day,” said Craig LaBerge-Esparza of UNM Truman Health Services, the largest HIV care provider in New Mexico. “There’s just a constant negativity about it, about something that’s unclean or inappropriate or not valid or not equal to the rest of us because of something that they happen to have, a disease that they happen to have.” More than 1.8 million people in the United States have HIV, according to research from Emory University. “HIV is still pretty prevalent.” “About 4,000 people in New Mexico are living with HIV at any given time, and about 88 percent of them are men,” said Ashish R. Gandhe, also known as Dr. Ash, of the University of New Mexico. He added that New Mexico men infected with the virus are mostly 45 and older, but that’s changing. “A lot of people feel like HIV is no longer a problem. But even in New Mexico, there are 150 new cases diagnosed each year, and that’s in a younger population, ages 25 to 34,” Dr. Ash said. There is no cure for HIV, but experts told KOAT that knowledge and treatment of the virus have improved dramatically over the years. “When I started medical school, treatments weren’t available, but when they became available, they were literally dozens of pills, you know, 12 to 20 pills that you take 2 to 3 times a day,” Dr. Ash said. That’s not the case anymore. Treatment drugs can now fit into a single pill, and newer medications like PrEP protect people from HIV and are about 98 percent effective. There’s also a medication called PEP. “You take it up to 72 hours after your exposure to HIV. It’s kind of a concentrated dose of PrEP. You take it for 30 days afterward. You have to see a doctor within 72 hours of exposure and start that PEP medication,” LaBerge-Esparza said. “Not quite as effective as PrEP … but it’s still about 90 percent effective.” Symptoms of HIV are similar to those of a cold. Experts told KOAT that if someone thinks they are at risk for HIV exposure and they have a bad cold, they should get tested. Knowledge about HIV is more widespread these days, and some experts attribute that to events like Albuquerque Pride Fest. “When you take all the testing into account, about 70% of the people we tested this year at Pride Fest were tested last year at Pride Fest,” LaBerge-Esparza said. HIV testing is free, and experts recommend getting tested every year. “If you are in direct care, in HIV care for a period of time, and you get your T-cell count down to a level where it is undetectable on standardized tests; if you get it down to a level where it is undetectable, you have no chance of transmitting HIV through casual sex,” LaBerge-Esparza said. That means people can live long, healthy lives for years to come. UNM Truman Health Services has two clinics. One is in Albuquerque and the other is in Roswell. For more information about the clinic, click here. You can also call them at (505) 272-1312 or contact them by email at THSinfo@unmmg.org.
June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. But it’s also a time to talk about some of the issues that affect people, like HIV.
“There is still a stigma around HIV in the community. It’s something we see every day,” said Craig LaBerge-Esparza of UNM Truman Health Services, the nation’s largest provider of HIV services. HIV in New Mexico. “It’s just constant negativity about it, about something that’s impure or inappropriate or not valid or not equal to the rest of us because of something that happens to be that they have a condition that they have.”
In the United States, more than 1.8 million people have HIV, according to a study by Emory University.
“HIV is still very prevalent. About 4,000 people in New Mexico are living with HIV at any given time, and about 88 percent of them are men,” said Ashish R. Gandhe, also known as Dr. Ash, of New York University. Mexico. He added that New Mexican men infected with the virus are mostly 45 and older, but that is changing.
“Many people feel that HIV is no longer a problem. But even in New Mexico, 150 new cases are diagnosed each year and this is in a younger population, aged 25 to 34,” said Dr. Ash.
There is no cure for HIV, but experts told KOAT that knowledge and treatment of the virus has improved significantly over the years.
“When I started medical school, treatments weren’t available, but when they became available, it was literally dozens of pills, you know, 12 to 20 pills that you took 2 to 3 times per day,” Dr. Ash said.
This is no longer the case. Treatment medications can now fit in a single pill, and new medications like PrEP protect people against HIV and are about 98% effective.
There is also a medicine called PEP.
“You take it up to 72 hours after your exposure to HIV. It’s kind of like a concentrated dose of PrEP. You take it for 30 days afterward. You need to see a doctor within 72 hours of exposure and start this PPE treatment,” LaBerge-Esparza said. “ Not quite as effective as PrEP… but still in the 90s” . “
HIV symptoms are similar to those of a cold. Experts told KOAT that if someone thinks they are at risk of HIV exposure and has a bad cold, they should get checked out.
Knowledge about HIV is more widespread these days, and some experts attribute this to events like the Albuquerque Pride Fest.
“When you go through all the testing, about 70% of the people we tested this year at Pride Fest were tested last year at Pride Fest,” LaBerge-Esparza said.
HIV testing is free and experts recommend getting tested every year.
“If you receive direct care, HIV care for a certain period of time and your T cell count declines to a level where it is undetectable in standardized tests; if you bring it down to a level where it’s undetectable, you have no chance of transmitting HIV through casual sex,” LaBerge-Esparza said.
This means that people can live long and healthy lives for years.
UNM Truman Health Services has two clinics. One is in Albuquerque and the other is in Roswell. For more information about the clinic, click here . You can also call them at (505) 272-1312 or contact them by email at THSinfo@unmmg.org.