Posts Tagged → #HIVNews

World’s Oldest HIV-Positive Person Celebrates 100th Birthday

HIV-positive individuals can lead long and productive lives nowadays. Miguel or the Lisbon Patient is the living proof of that claim. Diagnosed with early-stage AIDS when he was 84, Miguel has just celebrated his 100th birthday. While he does experience some minor age-related problems, Miguel is perfectly healthy and HIV is undetectable in his body. The doctors treating Miguel have decided to share his story in order to inspire HIV-positive individuals and help them seek treatment as soon as possible.

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News Update: Sentence Produced in Singapore HIV Registry Leak Case

A Kentucky court found Mikhy Farrera Brochez guilty of attempting to extort the Singaporean government in connection to the official HIV registry leak. The official sentence will be announced in September but Brochez faces jail time. He released the names and addresses of 5,400 Singaporeans and 8,800 foreigners featured in the official Singaporean HIV registry. Brochez said that he was doing whistleblowing to raise awareness about the unreliability of the registry. The Kentucky prosecution, however, refuted these claims and showed Brochez had been going after personal gains.

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Singapore Still Lags behind in Ensuring HIV Social Acceptance

Medicine has accomplished a lot in terms of treating HIV-positive individuals. HIV PEP, HIV PrEP and antiretroviral medications could make the viral load virtually undetectable. Regardless of medical advances, however, HIV acceptance in Singapore remains low. Even medical professionals contribute to the perpetuation of the stigma. Because of the negative attitudes, the number of people who get tested and who start receiving treatment early enough after an infection remains low.

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HIV Status of More Than 14,000 People in Singapore Leaked Online

In the beginning of 2019, the HIV positive status and the personal information of 14,200 was published online after the Singaporean HIV registry maintained by the Ministry of Health was breached. A US citizen staying in Singapore on an employment permit and a former Singaporean doctor have been identified as the individuals behind the breach. While both of them have received prison sentences, HIV positive individuals and advocacy groups worry about the repercussions of the leak. Some even claim HIV positive people could sue the government for the negligent handling of sensitive information.

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Singapore Diagnoses Fewer New HIV Cases in 2018

Singapore has seen a decrease in the number of diagnosed HIV cases in 2018. The vast majority of affected individuals are men. Roughly equal percentages of homosexual and heterosexual individuals are affected. Unfortunately, HIV is diagnosed at a later stage of the infection most of the time. Very few people have gotten diagnosed through voluntary, regular screening and most still get their positive HIV status via a routine medical examination or healthcare check.

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