Many patients in Ireland and the UK are not having their HIV infection diagnosed until the disease is at a late stage, a study claimed today.
Researchers found that in a large number of cases, patients were going to their doctor with HIV-related symptoms but still remained undiagnosed as much as a year later.
The researchers, writing in the British Medical Journal, surveyed more than 100 centres providing HIV care in Ireland and the UK, looking at patients presenting with a new diagnosis in January to March 2003.
Out of 977 patients, a third presented at a late stage of the disease. This was found to be more common in older patients and black Africans, but it was less likely in homosexual men whatever their age or ethnicity.
Fewer than half of the patients - 41 per cent - were diagnosed as part of routine screening, according to the team from Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust.
The researchers found that in the year before diagnosis 168 patients (17 per cent) had sought medical care with HIV-related symptoms but had remained undiagnosed.
They called for routine HIV screening to increase, with those most at risk encouraged to take a test.
The researchers said the advantages of early HIV diagnosis were well recognised, with the opportunity to start appropriate treatment with highly active anti-retroviral drugs.
They said that a wide range of health workers were in a position to detect HIV infections because patients presented at a number of different locations with a variety of diseases and conditions.
PA