Gabriela* is 36 years old and has been HIV positive for twenty years.
“I received the diagnosis approximately six years ago after the infection, when I became pregnant with my first daughter. I had no idea, I’m asymptomatic. When I went for prenatal tests, I discovered that I was HIV positive. At first it was a shock, my world fell apart, I imagined I was going to die, I wouldn’t be able to raise my daughter, see her grow up. I cried a lot, it was very difficult, I started treatment right away, I was pregnant, it had to be immediate treatment”, she begins the narrative.
Gabriela was infected by a boyfriend when she was a teenager. Without symptoms, she continued her life normally. She met her husband, Roberto. She had been married for two years when she became pregnant, then the diagnosis came. She informed her husband and he took the exam, testing negative.
“It was a miracle that he didn’t contract the virus, after all we had sex without a condom”, he says.
When Gabriela informed her ex-boyfriend that he had transmitted the virus to her, “It was a huge shock, he couldn’t handle it, he felt very guilty, he died soon after of AIDS and didn’t want to undergo treatment”.
Gabriela’s husband stayed by her side, had no prejudice, and they remain together to this day. They had two daughters from this union, one aged 14 and the other four years old. The couple’s daughters do not have the virus,” she says.
The report then asks what your pains are, why not open your serology, what is the fear?
“Serology affected my romantic life, at the beginning. Not because I was married, I was pregnant with my first daughter, when I found out, I told him. He hugged me, supported me, never let go of my hand, didn’t throw it in my face, never spoke or commented to anyone about the matter. This is something he keeps to himself. However, after years, we separated and this affected my life, because I cannot relate to other people due to my HIV status”, he says.
Gabriela feels a lack of psychological support in the SUS, reports that the support offered is in a support group with several people, and she does not feel comfortable. “I’ve never had an appointment with a psychologist,” she says. Gabriela, in turn, is undergoing treatment with retroviral drugs and has been “undetectable” for more than 20 years.
‘I live calmly with this, however, I think that the support, the supply of specialists should be greater. I know that many people cannot accept what happened to my ex-boyfriend who gave me HIV, today he could be alive. The SUS could improve this support in the health network, have a psychologist to come and talk, have care for individual people, that’s what it’s about”, he says.
Prejudice in Ricardo’s life*
Ricardo was a boy when he received a diagnosis that would completely change his life. The interviewee preferred not to identify himself due to fear of prejudice. Ricardo came from Açailândia, Maranhão. “I came to Curitiba in February 2020, looking for a better life and more appropriate treatment.”
“My diagnosis was difficult, complicated, imagine, I was 18 years old, I thought I was going to die at any moment, I wouldn’t live for three years. I cried a lot, I was trying to accept myself, I thought my life was over.”
According to Ricardo, in the city where he lived, everyone knew each other. “The embarrassment was very great. I had to get out of there,” he says. Even today he lives with fear and trepidation. “In fact, I’m afraid of prejudice. Nobody even knows my HIV status, people don’t understand, they think we’re filthy, that we’re plagued. Not all, but the majority. It’s very difficult to deal with this situation,” he says.
“I don’t suffer prejudice, because I never told anyone, nor did I tell anyone, only my mother knew and unfortunately today she is deceased, I undergo the treatment and I am undetectable, my serology remains with me alone”
“My mental health changed after the diagnosis, it actually got worse. Even today I take medication. I developed an anxiety disorder, I follow up with a psychologist and psychiatrist. It’s changed a lot, but I can handle it.”
Basic health Unit
Today it is possible to take the test at the Basic Health Unit, or look for the Testing and Counseling Centers (CTA). In Curitiba, there is the Guidance and Counseling Center (COA).
There, the test is carried out confidentially, safely and quickly. The result will be out in 30 or 40 minutes. If positive, the test is repeated immediately. The person goes through a psychologist prepared for this reception, where they will have all the guidance on treatments and care until they become undetectable.
Today, with the advancement of science, we have access to a medication called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), completely free of charge. Provided by the Unified Health System (SUS), which acts preventively, for people who do not carry the HIV virus, indicated for those who have a greater number of partners, PrEP is a medicine that does not allow the HIV virus to spread. install in the body.
A person living with HIV and taking treatment correctly achieves a sustained undetectable viral load and can confidently declare to their sexual partner that they are not transmissible. Today, the virus is only transmitted by those who do not take the treatment correctly, and above all those who do not take the test to really know their serology.
Treatment with retrovirals can last six months to become undetectable.
It is estimated that, today, one million people live with HIV in Brazil. Of this total, 650,000 are male and 350,000 female, according to the HIV clinical monitoring report.
Considering the sex assigned at birth, women have worse outcomes at all stages of care. While 92% of men are diagnosed, only 86% of women are diagnosed. 82% of men receive antiretroviral treatment, but 79% of women are on treatment, and 96% of men are undetectable, but the number is 94% among women.
*The characters in the article have had their names changed to avoid exposure
Source: Ministry of Health and Health Surveillance
Editing: Pedro Carrano
