FALMOUTH, Trelawny – With the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the increase in Falmouth, Trelawny residents are being encouraged to take advantage of the Voluntary Counselling and Testing service that was introduced in 2004.

Between January and March this year, 25 new cases of the disease were reported in the parish compared to five new cases for the corresponding period last year, according to medical officer of health (MOH) Dr Maung Aung. Of the 25 new cases reported in the first quarter of this year, 16 were female. This reflects the global trend that shows more women at risk of contracting the disease.

“The important thing is to get tested. If positive people do not know their status, they are out there and if you do not protect yourself you are (at risk of) getting infected,” Aung told the Observer. He added that an estimated 65 per cent of Jamaicans living with the disease do not know their status.

“If you know your status, there are treatment and support programmes we will offer to you. We will give you treatment and support to (prevent the spread of) the disease to other persons. And, you can live longer by way of accessing our treatment plan,” the MOH said.

Between 1987 and 2004, there were 320 cases of HIV/AIDS reported in Trelawny, with the Falmouth health district accounting for 45 per cent of those cases. The other health districts in the parish, Duncans and Albert Town, accounted for 34 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively. Of the 320 reported cases over the period, 196 people have died.

According to Aung, denial and migration were also contributing factors in the spreading of the deadly virus.

“Some HIV/AIDS patients don’t accept their status and therefore continue to have unprotected sex,” he said. “Based on our observations, many persons pick up the infection elsewhere then come back home and some infected persons come to the parish for work/business.”

The Trelawny Health Department has been working to improve public knowledge of the disease through the VCT and other initiatives like the Parish Action AIDS Committee.

That committee is operated, Aung said, from both North and South Trelawny, providing support to those infected with or affected by the disease. HIV-positive mothers are supplied with baby formula free of cost by the Falmouth Health Centre and the Falmouth Hospital.

“Those babies (whose mothers have the virus) are also referred to the Paediatric Specialist clinic at Cornwall Regional Hospital (in Montego Bay) to be assessed by child specialists,” Aung said, adding that he was currently seeking to have a paediatrician working from Trelawny.

There are also a range of school-based programmes aimed at building self-esteem in children and keeping them up to date on the disease and its social and economic implications.

In their various public outreach/education programmes, health officials remind residents that a history of sexually transmitted infections puts them at a greater risk of becoming infected with the disease if they do not take the necessary precautions. Inconsistent condom use and casual sex are known contributors to the spread of the disease.

– williamsp@jamaiaobserver.com