★ Make Your Mark prevents up to 8,000 new cases of HIV through diagnosis in emergency services.
Early diagnosis of HIV is one of the keys to eliminating the virus in Spain. It was under this premise that the Deja tu Huella (DTH) program was born four years ago, hand in hand with Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES) and Gilead in collaboration withl Emergency Infections Group (INFURG-SEMS)in collaboration with the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) and its Working Group on AIDS Research (GESIDA). These organizations came together with a clear goal: carry out diagnostic tests in emergency services to identify people with the virus and thereby reduce hidden HIV infection in Spain.
To share new program data, the regional coordinators of Deja Tu Huella, SEMES, INFURG-SEMES and Gilead, accompanied by representatives of the Ministry of Health, SEIMC, GESIDA and CESIDA (the state coordinator for HIV and AIDS), met at the SEMES national headquarters.
New data
To date, more than 160 hospitals have participated, more than 200 health care workers have participated, 170,256 serological tests have been completed, and 1,997 new infections have been diagnosed, based on cumulative data as of June 30, 2024. This puts the positivity rate at 1.17%. For P0 2 to 4 people infected with HIV means they were avoided during 3994 and 7988 new cases of infection.
According to experts, early diagnosis helps not only the patient, but also society as a whole, sinceWith appropriate antiretroviral treatment, the patient stops transmitting the infection.
The meeting presented data from several cohorts that demonstrated the utility of this diagnostic strategy. Thus, from the moment the implementation of this program began
In Catalonia, 23,105 serological surveys were carried out, of which 57.8% of new diagnoses occurred during the acute phase of infection. In addition, data from a characterization study conducted by the CCAA shows that the average age of patients is 30–50 years, 84% are male, 56% are heterosexual, and 76% of them acquired the infection through sexual contact.
On the other hand, in Madrid, late diagnosis is higher in cases of heterosexual transmission, both in men (58.5%) and women (55.8%), while men who have sex with men (MSM) have the lowest rate late diagnosis (40.3). %).
He Dr. Juan Gonzalez del Castillocoordinator of the INFURG-SEMES working group and the project “Deja tu Huella”, commented that this project: “an example of scientific societies, patient organizations, health authorities, hospitals and industry working together, and public health innovation, with resounding success.”
Moreover, he added that “Recently, we have been promoting the nursing work required to triage and screen patients for serological testing according to established parameters.”
Pau Arbos, director of Gilead’s HIV business in Spain and Portugal, noted that “To end this epidemic for everyone, everywhere, we know we need to innovate not only in developing new treatments, but also in other aspects such as diagnosis and patient referrals. “Deja tu Huella is an example of how to move forward in this area.”
Fountain: Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES)/td>