World AIDS Day
- By Alicia Mae
- Published 12/1/2008
Alicia Mae
I have a PhD in the basic medical sciences and am a freelance writer. I also run my own websites, Maeflowers.com and AliciaMae.com, and enjoy art and crafts.
Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day. HIV/AIDS is still an epidemic in
Africa, and infects millions in the United States. It is an often
misunderstood disease and the patient demographic is also often
misunderstood. HIV can infect anyone, regardless of sexuality or
marital status. AIDS is the end-stage of the disease - the immune
system is destroyed to the point that it cannot fight off other
infections. There are many treatments to bolster the immune system and
postpone the onset of AIDS, but these treatments are not effective for
every patient and do not cure the disease or prevent HIV transmission.
The U.S. government denied the existence of AIDS for several years in the 1980s, President Reagan would not use the word in public despite the spread of the illness in homosexual and intravenous drug user communities. Bias and fear prevented the government from acknowledging the disease, shrugging it off as a "gay problem". But this is not the case and the slow response in the 1980s may have been one factor in the efficiently fast spread of the disease into other communities, particularly the heterosexual partners of closeted gay men.
Some experts have suggested that too much emphasis is placed on AIDS research, that the funds would be better used elsewhere. They feel that we have it under control everywhere but Africa, where some governments still deny its presence. I don't think we have it under control. Apathy and false security will lead to further outbreaks. The virus is becoming more and more resistant to treatment. Giving up now would lead us to the same situation we have with resistant bacteria and the coming problems with unpredictive influenza.
I'd like to share some articles I've written on HIV/AIDS, as well as some organizations:
AIDS epidemic update January 2008
The
Future of AIDS
The Facts about HIV/AIDS
Controlling the AIDS epidemic in Africa
Could an HIV vaccine really be on the horizon
What we have ahead of us in the fight against HIV/AIDS
The possibility of a cure for AIDS over the next ten years
How concerned should Americans be about HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean
The origin of HIV
A new initiative for an AIDS vaccine
Possible Solution to Resistant HIV
HIV still hasn't decreased
Another setback in the battle to cure AIDS
A list of organizations from AIDStruth.org
World Health Organization - HIV department
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
The U.S. government denied the existence of AIDS for several years in the 1980s, President Reagan would not use the word in public despite the spread of the illness in homosexual and intravenous drug user communities. Bias and fear prevented the government from acknowledging the disease, shrugging it off as a "gay problem". But this is not the case and the slow response in the 1980s may have been one factor in the efficiently fast spread of the disease into other communities, particularly the heterosexual partners of closeted gay men.
Some experts have suggested that too much emphasis is placed on AIDS research, that the funds would be better used elsewhere. They feel that we have it under control everywhere but Africa, where some governments still deny its presence. I don't think we have it under control. Apathy and false security will lead to further outbreaks. The virus is becoming more and more resistant to treatment. Giving up now would lead us to the same situation we have with resistant bacteria and the coming problems with unpredictive influenza.
I'd like to share some articles I've written on HIV/AIDS, as well as some organizations:
AIDS epidemic update January 2008
The
The Facts about HIV/AIDS
Controlling the AIDS epidemic in Africa
Could an HIV vaccine really be on the horizon
What we have ahead of us in the fight against HIV/AIDS
The possibility of a cure for AIDS over the next ten years
How concerned should Americans be about HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean
The origin of HIV
A new initiative for an AIDS vaccine
Possible Solution to Resistant HIV
HIV still hasn't decreased
Another setback in the battle to cure AIDS
A list of organizations from AIDStruth.org
World Health Organization - HIV department
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
