Today in Scotland, HIV is considered a manageable long-term health condition, with treatments allowing people to live long, healthy lives.
Despite this, gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men, continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV, often driven by stigma and discrimination.
SX is proud to support the internationally-backed Undetectable=Untransmittable Consensus Statement, a powerful message to challenge stigma and reduce new infections.
Undetectable=Untransmittable, U=U for short, is a simple message – a person living with HIV, who is taking treatment as directed by their clinician, maintains an undetectable viral load and cannot pass on HIV through sex.
Find out more about what it means below.
HIV treatments work by reducing the levels of HIV in a person’s body. When this level (or viral load) gets below a certain point HIV becomes undetectable.
If someone is living with HIV, their clinician will be able to confirm if they are undetectable with a simple blood test. This is usually a part of routine HIV appointments.
There are a couple of important points to remember about being undetectable:
HIV treatment is a life-long commitment, but support is available for people who are struggling.
It is now clear from scientific evidence, backed by HIV specialists around the world, that a person who is living with HIV, who is on treatment, and who has achieved and maintains an undetectable viral load CANNOT pass HIV on through sex.
So Undetectable=Untransmittable.
Again, there are a couple of important points to remember:
Many men who are living with HIV have come to experience significant stigma in relation to the sex they have. Men can often encounter this when they disclose their HIV status on apps.
U=U is a powerful challenge to this stigma. It highlights not only that treatment can help people living with HIV to live well, but also that treatment can play a role, alongside condoms, regular testing and PrEP in stopping the spread of HIV.
The first step to U=U is to encourage men to know their HIV status by accessing regular testing.
If you want to know more about U=U and the science behind it, visit the Prevention Access Campaign website.