LISTEN: People of the North East urged to test for HIV after string of late detections
On World AIDS Day - NHS Grampian is urging the people of the North East to test for HIV, after a string of late detections in the area.
People of the North East are being urged to test themselves for HIV, on what is World AIDS Day 2015.
HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system, and weakens your ability to fight to fight infections and disease. If left untreated it will develop into AIDS.
The virus is commonly passed through unprotected sex, the sharing of infected needles, or from mother to baby through pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding.
There is no cure for HIV, but there are treatments that allow those with the virus to live a long and healthy life.
The only way to find out if you have HIV is to have an HIV test. This involves testing a sample of your blood or saliva for signs of the infection.
Now NHS Grampian wants those living in the North East to get tested.
From January to September this year, there was 26 new cases in the Grampian area - and a large number of them were detected late.
Our reporter Hope Webb spoke to Dr Emmanuel Opko, the Executive Lead for HIV at NHS Grampian.
Listen to that interview here: