This year, 164 new HIV cases were diagnosed in Finland. Most of these cases were contracted via heterosexual sex. Intravenous drug users account for fewer than ten new cases annually.
Ignorance fuels stigma attached to the illness. Katariina Huuhka, a psychologist at Tampere’s HIV centre, says that many people keep their positive status a secret in fear of discrimination.
”At some workplaces, people don’t want to use the same bathroom as someone who has HIV,” she says.
Some 2,000 people in Finland live with HIV/AIDS, and eight AIDS deaths were recorded last year. Researchers say between 500 and 1000 people in Finland unknowingly carry HIV.
“Getting tested should be easy. Most new cases are among people who don’t know they’re infected,” says researcher Henrikki Brummer-Korvenkontio of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1 to show support for people living with HIV. Some 34 million people worldwide are living with HIV infection, according to the World Health Organization.
