ESPANOLA—Island residents who believe they may be at risk of HIV or hepatitis C are encouraged to come to a Testing 1-2-3 event in Espanola on Wednesday, January 20.
The event encourages people to “have lunch, get tested, get results” at the Espanola Legion, 370 Annette Street, next Wednesday between 10:30 am and 1:30 pm courtesy of the Réseau ACCESS Network.
Joel Boivin, a counsellor with the Réseau ACCESS Network Hepatitis C program, explained that at the Espanola event, a nurse will be available to provide testing for HIV, hepatitis C as well as sexually transmitted infections. Food and refreshments will also be available.
“The main purpose in doing this is to bring testing to a place where people are more comfortable,” Mr. Boivin explained. “Testing is not something people feel comfortable with and we want to make it as convenient as possible.”
Mr. Boivin said those who have had unprotected sexual contact, have tattoos or piercings and are or ever have been an injection drug user or have had blood transfusions or surgery before 1991 should think about getting tested. The counsellor noted that, prior to 1991, blood was not tested for hepatitis.
Hepatitis C is often asymptomatic until the liver disease has progressed to an advanced phase, but during the acute stage, one-third of people may exhibit symptoms such as fatigue, tenderness to the liver and flu-like symptoms. However, the majority of people exhibit no signs or symptoms for years or even decades.
In recent years, there have been great advancements in hepatitis C treatments with most people requiring a regimen of only one or two pills a day for three to six months. The success rate of these drugs comes in at over 90 percent. The downfall is that most prescriptions are not covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Program or the Ontario Drug benefit, unless the liver is in an advanced state of disease. People are more likely to be funded for such drugs through a private health care insurance plan. One particular pill costs $1,000 a day if not covered, Mr. Boivin shared.
HIV treatments too have come a long way. Mr. Boivin noted the ‘1980s pill burden’ which saw HIV patients taking upwards of 80 pills a day. “Now it’s not uncommon to see one pill a day,” he added, explaining that this is HIV strain-dependent. A study released in recent years found that a Sudbury strain of the disease has one of the highest drug resistant rates in Canada, likely due to its high transmission rate through injection drug users.
At the Espanola testing event, those getting tested can expect to have blood taken for the HIV or hepatitis C test. Urine tests are also available to check for sexually transmitted infections. Often, Mr. Boivin told The Expositor, people will ask to be tested for everything at the same time. The results will come back within a few days where someone from the network will contact the client either way and will even come to see you.
If found to have hepatitis C, the network can also arrange for help from their hepatitis C treatment team consisting of a counsellor, outreach worker, case manager and nurses. “We help support the treatment process,” Mr. Boivin said. “It can be very intensive in terms of setting things up.”
If a client is found to have HIV, the network will also provide support services, but works closely with the Sudbury HAVEN Program, an HIV/AIDS clinic.
If you are interested in being tested, but can’t make the testing clinic or are uncomfortable with the setting or are looking for more information, please call the Réseau ACCESS Network at 705-688-0500.
