A charity reported a surge in calls and online inquiries after Gareth Thomas announced he is HIV positive.

The former Welsh rugby captain shared a video on Twitter last Saturday in which he revealed he has HIV and said blackmailers previously threatened to reveal his diagnosis. Thomas immediately received an abundance of supportive messages, including posts on social media by the Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge.

Terrence Higgins Trust, a leading HIV, AIDS and sexual health charity, said that the day after Thomas’ announcement, it reported its busiest day of the year for web traffic. Sunday was also the charity’s busiest day for HIV self-test orders since the organisation launched the service, at three times the usual rate.

The charity said it continued to note higher-than-usual web traffic and HIV self-test orders on Monday, two days after Thomas went public with his diagnosis. Terrence Higgins Trust added that many of its web visitors were visiting the organisation’s page about being undetectable.

On Wednesday evening, BBC aired documentary Gareth Thomas: HIV and Me.

The documentary followed Thomas as he learned more about the condition and sought to combat misunderstandings which continue to surround the subject. Read more via the Independent