Fiji declared a national HIV emergency this week, finding one in 60 residents has the bloodborne virus, up from one in 167 five years ago.
The government partly attributes the spike to expanded testing efforts, with only 39% of infected individuals aware they are HIV positive. Experts say infections likely also began rising around 2019, as Fiji became a “superhighway” for drugs from Latin America and Asia to lucrative markets in Australia and New Zealand (watch documentary). This has increased drug use in Fiji too, primarily among sex workers. More than half of the cases with known modes of transmission were traced to sex, while over 42% were tied to injecting drugs.
Only 22% of infected people are receiving treatment, compared with 78% globally. Fiji is working with Australia, New Zealand, India, and NGOs to provide free antiretrovirals, which studies show reduce HIV to undetectable levels in 90% of patients and lower the risk of AIDS. Watch how here.
Discover more:
> How does HIV target human cells? (w/video)
> See world map showing where HIV is most prevalent.
> The prevailing myth about the man known as Patient Zero.
