Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSEngland fans urged to have HIV test
Football fans who had unprotected sex while in South Africa during the recent World Cup should get tested for HIV, a city hospital consultant has said.
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Of those who catch the virus, around two thirds of men and a quarter of women do so through having sex on holiday - as many as 25,000 England fans went to South Africa, where around six million people have HIV.
Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital has launched Beer Goggles Johnny’s Guide To Sexual Health to encourage anyone who had unprotected sex in South Africa to visit their local sexual health clinic.
Almost one in five young adults who live in the African nation have HIV and some areas have an infection ratio of one in three.
Sexual health and HIV consultant Dr Steve Taylor said: “During the festivities if holidaymakers had unprotected sex it is more important than ever to get themselves checked out on their return. Although the public are more aware of the dangers of unsafe sex these days, we are not seeing people putting this into practice, which is worrying.
“We want holidaymakers to take precautions, pack condoms in their suitcase and attend sexual health screenings on their return if they are unsure.”
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Readers' comments (2)
Anonymous | 19-Jul-2010 3:10 pm
why South Africa, is this just because the world cup took play in Africa. what if FIFA took place in europe, then what will be the warning? HIV is World wide.
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NHS Nursing Student | 20-Jul-2010 12:56 pm
Anonymous, please don't start nitpicking at Africa as if it's no worse than any other country with HIV. It's the worst place on the planet to pick up any disease because they are all rife there. As well as many young people in the early stages of the disease out there not knowing they even have HIV (around 80% are belived to not know) there are also many more who know they have the disease but not the implications of it. Why? There are a million reasons why. Do your research. HIV is world-wide, yes, but it is predomenantly an african epidemic.
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