Today Chappie wants to sit down with you and have a little talk about HIV.
That chap Charlie Sheen has been diagnosed with HIV recently. So what is this HIV malarkey about?
HIV stands for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a virus that weakens the body’s immune system and uses it to reproduce itself. AIDS is the final stage of the HIV infection. It develops in HIV positive people when their immune system is too weak to combat a range of diseases.
London accounts for half of all HIV diagnosis in the UK, with 2,671 diagnoses in London compared to 2,887 in the rest of the country, crikey!
You may think you’re all tickety-boo with a typical British cold, but this can be an indication of HIV. The most common symptoms of recent HIV infection are severe flu-like symptoms, including a sore throat and fever, and a rash on the ole hairy chest. Other symptoms can include fatigue, nausea and the back-door trots (diarrhoea).
The highest proportion of new diagnosis’ is found amongst men who play for the other team, at around 42%. Heterosexual contact is the second most common transmission mode in the EU at 33%.
In 2014 an estimated 21,300 men and 32,700 women acquired HIV through hanky panky in the UK.
There is no cure for HIV or AIDS. However, you can help prevent it by wearing a rubber every time you take a trip up the growler or the back passage. It is important to find out about the infection as soon as possible, early detection is the biggest indicator of better prognosis.
So before you rumpy pumpy blinding drunk over the festive holiday season, make sure you or your fella have been checked and is suited and booted to prevent catching something beastly and life changing.
Be a good boy this Christmas, come to the Walk in Clinic and get your chap checked.