A SEXUAL health charity has moved to reassure the public after the death of a Bournemouth man from an AIDS-related brain disease.

The Terrence Higgins Trust, which campaigns on issues related to HIV, said the death of 38-year-old Catalin Goia just weeks after being diagnosed with HIV is now a relatively unusual occurrence.

And the organisation urged the public to continue to be tested so anyone affected can access life-saving treatment.

Marc Thompson, Health Improvement Lead at the charity said: "Thanks to effective HIV treatment the number of people developing a late-stage HIV illness has fallen sharply in the UK.

"HIV is now a manageable condition and people living with HIV can expect to live a normal and healthy life."

Mr Thompson said more than 100,000 people across the UK are living with HIV with 92 per cent diagnosed. He said 98 per cent of those are on treatment and 97 per cent are virally suppressed, meaning they can't pass on the virus.

He added: "That’s why it’s so important the public knows the modern day realities of HIV, so we can break down barriers to testing and ensure everyone living with HIV can access life-saving treatment.

"This will also take us one step closer to ending transmissions altogether."

A Bournemouth inquest heard that Romania-born Mr Goia, a factory worker who lived in Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, was admitted to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital in May this year suffering from dizziness, nausea and vertigo.

He was diagnosed with HIV and transferred to the Macmillan Unit in Christchurch for palliative care on June 19. He died there 11 days later.

Mr Goia was born in Bucharest and a statement from his family there revealed he was a former intravenous drug user.

He moved to the UK in 2017, living in Salisbury and Poole before moving to Bournemouth.

Assistant Coroner Brendan Allen concluded that Mr Goia's death was drugs-related. The official cause of his death was given as Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy.