We're proud to be working with EastEnders on this story to make sure what happens reflects the realities of HIV in 2023.
TV can play a vital role in educating audiences in their millions about the HIV virus and sharing myth-busting facts to show it has changed since the 1980s.
Zack’s story will shine a light on straight people’s experience of HIV. As the story unfolds over the coming weeks, here’s what you should know.
What will happen to Zack?
It’s crucial to know that you can now live a long, healthy life with HIV thanks to incredible advancements in treatment. HIV treatment is a combination of drugs, which is usually taken in the form of daily pills. For many, this is just one tablet once a day.
HIV treatment works by stopping the virus from reproducing and reducing the amount of virus in the blood to an ‘undetectable’ level. This means that the virus can’t be passed on to anyone else. It also keeps people living with HIV healthy.
It usually takes between three and six months for someone to become undetectable.
How many straight people are living with HIV?
In 2021, 2,692 people in England were diagnosed with HIV, according to official Government statistics. The vast majority of these were from sex and around half were straight people, and the other half were gay and bisexual men.
Straight people are far more likely to be diagnosed with HIV late. This means they’re estimated to have lived with HIV unaware for at least three to five years. At this point, the virus has already started to damage your immune system.
In 2021, more than half of heterosexual men (63%) and half of women (50%) were diagnosed late – this compares to 37% of gay and bisexual men. This is likely driven by a belief that they are not at risk of HIV, which is why it’s so important to have TV storylines like Zack’s challenge this incorrect assumption.
How do I get tested for HIV?
It’s quick and easy to test for HIV, whether in person at a clinic or by ordering a test online. People can live with HIV for a long time without any symptoms, testing is the only way to know your status. The sooner you know it, the sooner you can get on treatment if needed and avoid passing the virus on to anyone else.
Most people will get a negative result. But whatever happens, it’s important to know that anyone diagnosed with HIV in the UK can access free treatment and support – and with National HIV Testing Week on the horizon, there’s no better time to get tested and know your status.
How common is it to get HIV from injecting drugs?
The vast majority of people get HIV through sex. It can also be passed on by injecting drugs as well as from mother to baby during childbirth – known as vertical transmission – but these are less common. Learn more on AIDSMAP.
According to Government statistics, only 2% of new HIV diagnoses in 2021 were from injecting drug use, and just 0.7% of all new diagnoses were vertical transmissions.
As steroids are often injected, there are risks associated with sharing needles including damage to veins, hepatitis B and C and HIV.
Read more about the risks of steroid misuse on the NHS website.
What will happen to Whitney and their baby?
All pregnant people in the UK are offered an HIV test to reduce the number of babies born with the virus. Thanks to the incredible advancements we’ve made in HIV treatment, babies are rarely born with HIV in the UK now.
People living with HIV do give birth to HIV-negative children. If someone who is pregnant tests positive for HIV, they’ll be advised to start treatment straight away. This is a crucial way to prevent the virus from being transmitted to the baby during pregnancy or birth.
Has Zack passed on HIV to other people?
We’ll have to see how the storyline pans out, but it’s important to know that HIV can only be passed on through blood, semen, vaginal fluid, anal mucus and breast milk. It’s not passed on by spitting, sneezing, coughing, kissing or general social contact.
Some people think if you have unprotected sex with an HIV-positive person once, you will definitely contract the virus – but that isn’t the case. However, you are more likely to pass it on to others in the early months of contracting it when the virus is replicating a lot. If Zack’s used condoms then it is feasible that he wouldn’t have passed it on to anyone.
More information
If you have any questions about HIV, you can contact Terrence Higgins Trust’s free and confidential helpline THT Direct. Call 0808 802 1221 between 10am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.
National HIV Testing Week promotes regular HIV testing, particularly for groups most affected by HIV, including gay and bisexual men and Black people of African ethnicity. It starts Monday 6 February.
